Former Antioch Police officer acquitted on assault charge during 2022 traffic stop
Took jury an hour to find Matthew Nutt not guilty
“Officer Nutt did exactly what he was trained to do and what the law allows him to do in order to control a man wanted for a serious and violent crime,” defense attorney Nicole Pifari
“All the glory to God” – Matthew Nutt
Appealing his termination, City agrees to arbitration
By Allen D. Payton
A year after being terminated then charged with misdemeanor assault during a 2022 traffic stop incident, former Antioch Police officer Matthew Nutt was acquitted by a jury on Thursday, June 13, 2024.
As previously reported, in May 2023, Nutt was terminated from his employment as the result of an internal investigation into his use of force against an individual during a traffic stop on July 1, 2022. During the incident, Mr. Nutt learned the driver of a vehicle stopped for not displaying license plates had an outstanding felony warrant for shooting at an inhabited dwelling or occupied vehicle and conspiracy. Upon placing the individual under arrest, he refused to sit in the back of a police vehicle and displayed physical resistance. Mr. Nutt used force against the arrestee, consisting of a series of punches and kicks, along with knee and elbow strikes.
Nutt was represented by attorney Nicole Pifari, a partner in the Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, PC Legal Defense Group, whose lead partner, Mike Rains, represents the Antioch Police Officers Association. According to her bio, “She has successfully defended police officers from criminal prosecutions in both state and federal court, and also represents officers around the state facing administrative investigation, disciplinary appeal, or the trauma of involvement in critical incidents.”
Pifari issued the following statement about the acquittal: “Antioch Police Officer Matthew Nutt Found Not Guilty
Today, after one hour of deliberation, a Contra Costa County Jury acquitted former Antioch Police Officer Matthew Nutt at the conclusion of a one-week trial. Nutt was charged with misdemeanor assault after using force while arresting a man for a felony warrant. He was represented at trial by Nicole Pifari of Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, PC.
The call originated with a traffic stop where the passenger in the car had a warrant for two felonies related to a drive by shooting. After being handcuffed, the suspect tried to run, then began to resist, leading to a physical struggle at the door of the patrol car with two officers. At well over 300 pounds, the suspect was overpowering the officers when Nutt used a series of body strikes to gain his compliance.
“First and foremost, we are incredibly grateful to the jury for their work. I remain perplexed by this criminal filing. In my opinion it was nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to the video. The prosecution failed to call a single percipient witness with the most glaring omission being their failure to call the shooting suspect. Basically, the prosecution tried to ruin a decorated police officer and veteran’s life without any evidence,” said Pifari.
“Officer Nutt did exactly what he was trained to do and what the law allows him to do in order to control a man wanted for a serious and violent crime,” Pifari added.
“All the glory to God,” Nutt added.
When reached for comment about the acquittal Rains said, “I knew the case. I was talking with Nicole about it, the motions before trial and the way the case was going to be prosecuted by (Chief Contra Costa Assistant District Attorney) Simon O’Connell. I had seen the video and we discussed it.
“I couldn’t believe that Simon thought he could ever get a conviction on this case without even offering up a use of force expert who said the use of force was unreasonable,” Rains continued. “He apparently thought he was going to put the video up there. He called a video guy (to testify) who said he was asked to look at the punches that Nutt delivered to the victim.”
“Nicole appropriately asked the video expert, ‘Were you asked to look at what the alleged victim was doing to prompt the officer to do what he did?’ He said, ‘no, I wasn’t asked to do that’,” Rains stated. “To freeze the frame showing what Officer Nutt did and not freeze a frame showing this guy kicking at the officer and refusing to get into the car was entirely misleading. This is a prosecutor who doesn’t care about showing the truth to the jury and they saw it very clearly.”
“The trial only took a few days. It didn’t take the jury long, only an hour to reach a verdict,” Rains shared. “Thats because Simon O’Connell is such a poor prosecutor.”
“Nicole put Nutt on the witness stand. He’s an honest man. The jury believed what he said, and they came back with a unanimous not guilty verdict” Rains continued. “It was a slam dunk win for the defense and what amounted to a condemnation by the jury of Simon O’Connell, (DA) Diana Becton and the District Attorney’s Office for bringing this case.”
Termination Based on Department Policy, Not the Law
According to the Antioch Police Department, Mr. Nutt’s application of force triggered an automatic review of his body-worn camera footage. The reviewing supervisor had concerns about what was depicted in the video and believed Mr. Nutt may have violated Antioch Police policies governing use of force. The supervisor communicated his concerns through official channels, and an internal review was initiated. Mr. Nutt was placed into an assignment with no direct public contact.
After a thorough investigation, Mr. Nutt was sustained on four (4) use of force policy violations, including using unreasonable force, failure to de-escalate, and failure to use alternative tactics. Chief Steven Ford reviewed the findings of the investigation and terminated Mr. Nutt from his employment with the Antioch Police Department on April 21, 2023.
Asked if Nutt’s termination by the department was included in his prosecution, Rains said, “I don’t believe that came in. The administrative side of the case is not usually brought into a criminal case.”
“It’s not based on a violation of the law but only looks at the department policy,” he continued. “The department standard for discipline would be the mere preponderance of the evidence. Understand, a jury can only convict on a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. So, it’s a different standard.”
“The only reason Matthew Nutt was terminated is because it was in the heyday of the text scandal and I know there was immense pressure on Chief Ford,” Rains stated. “I don’t think he wanted to terminate this young man.”
Termination Appealed Will Go to Arbitration With City
“We’ve appealed his termination and have agreed to go to arbitration,” he added.
Asked when that will occur, Rains said, “We don’t have it scheduled yet. We were waiting for the criminal case to end.”
UPDATE: DA’s Office Responds
In response the DA’s Office PIO, Asregadoo wrote, “Though the verdict was not in our favor, we acknowledge the importance of a jury trial in ensuring a fair and impartial legal process.”
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Matthew Nutt 06-19 & CCDA logo
