Mayor Pro Tem Torres-Walker claims Antioch Police Department, “City as a whole” have a “deeply entrenched racist culture”

Antioch Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker rants at and about fellow Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock at the end of the April 25, 2023 council meeting. Video screenshot

Says fellow Councilwoman Ogorchock had “white privilege fits”, has “white fragility”

By Allen D. Payton

In a post on her official Facebook page on Thursday, May 18, 2023, Antioch Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker called for the immediate firing of “officers involved in the racist texting scandal”. In addition, she wrote, “I’ve been asked by some in the community why I am not currently supporting or attending events involving the police department. (See related articles here and here)

To ensure clarity, and why I will not, I am sharing directly with you on social media.

My reasoning for this stance is that I firmly believe that the officers involved in the racist texting scandal should have been immediately terminated.

To me, and many in the community, these efforts have been done in the past as an outlet for the community while leading to little or no change as it relates to the institution of policing. I too was once guilty of thinking some heart-felt dialogue would make an institutional difference when in reality it’s been more like one relationship at a time.

My position on this is not some political ploy to silence the community but rather an expression of my commitment to not ignore the deeply entrenched racist culture within the Antioch Police Department and the City as a whole.

Screenshot of post by Torres-Walker on her official Facebook page on Thursday, May 18, 2023.

To not address the obvious need to terminate the individuals who have breached their duty of trust to this community is an insult to every single resident of Antioch.

As a community, we shouldn’t be expected to condone a culture of racism and abuse that has completely betrayed our trust to move swiftly past the harm.

To those that will want to turn this position into me being anti-police or censoring the community. I am not. I am against supporting the obvious wrongs of individuals in APD and unproven practices in our pursuit of justice and a City where policing services are none [sic] biased. Rather than seeking to make me the villain, you should want the same, for those of us who live here together.”

At the end of the city council meeting on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, during the period reserved for Council Communications and Future Agenda Items, Torres-Walker injected additional racially charged comments, by using the time to rant and take a swipe at District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock (and local media) saying, “I want to say this respectfully and with some compassion that Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock’s investigative powers only work when she is coming for progressives and radical progressives on this city council. It is unfortunate that those wonder powers didn’t activate when people of color, Black people and poor people in this community have been coming to this council for years demanding accountability for her beloved police force. Lori, you say you don’t hear stories, you don’t watch the news, you don’t read newspapers beyond the opinion of two of the most popular fearmongers in our city, but you demand to be invited to a meeting that you, to have information about a meeting you weren’t invited to? Even last year when Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock had her white privilege fits right here, in this public space, I didn’t say a word. I’m growing tired and I thank God that I have patience because I have seen some growth. But white fragility doesn’t move me at all. And so, if you want to be a part of something don’t keep putting yourself outside of things that you should be on the right side of.”

Ogorchock did not respond to Torres-Walker’s comments and merely asked a question of city staff on an unrelated matter. (See council meeting video at 2:53:54 mark)


the attachments to this post:


Torres-Walker FB post 051823


Torres-Walker speaks at ACC 042513 mtg


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