During re-election campaign Antioch mayor blames former city manager opponent for current crime, police scandals, lack of officers
In Wednesday TV news interview about new Violence Reduction Initiative; Bernal says, “No” he didn’t know about police scandals
Although scandals occurred while he’s been on the council since 2016 and mayor since 2020 Hernandez-Thorpe won’t accept any responsibility
By Allen D. Payton
Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe who is seeking re-election to a second term in the position, and third term on the council, lashed out at his opponent, former city manager Ron Bernal on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, during a Bay Area TV news interview. He posted a video of the interview on his official Facebook page.
The KTVU interview was about the Violence Reduction Initiative approved the by city council the previous night providing up to $500,000 for help from outside agencies at a cost of up to $200 per hour for their officers and equipment. The plan is to supplement the effort of the Antioch Police Department specifically focusing on the City’s highest-crime areas of Sycamore and Cavallo Roads following a rash of 15 shootings in September, most of which occurred in those parts of town and results in the deaths of two young men.
During the interview the mayor blasted Bernal claiming he was responsible for the current crime which he blamed on the lack of officers due to the two scandals involving officers from both the Antioch and Pittsburg Police Departments that were investigated by both the Contra Costa DA’s Office and FBI. Hernandez-Thorpe said, “The former city manager left us with this mess.”
The scandals started with the selling of steroids and one officer taking tests so other officers could pass college courses to obtain greater pay and the initial investigation uncovered racist and offensive texts being sent by six officers but received by many more. The investigations resulted in 35 Antioch officers being placed on leave and ultimately, 10 officers being terminated. (See related articles here, here and here)
The texting occurred in 2019, 2020 and 2021 while Hernandez-Thorpe was on the city council having been elected in 2016 and during his first year as mayor, and when Bernal was city manager, having been first hired interim city manager then promoted to the permanent position both in March 2017. The mayor called for the firing of all the officers investigated for the text scandal in May 2023 and again the following month.
The KTVU reporter challenged the mayor asking him if he was elected in 2020, but she failed to ask him how long he’s served on the council. Hernandez-Thorpe’s first term as a council member began in December 2016 and included the time period of both police scandals.
The police chief at that time, Tammany Brooks, who was hired in May 2017, said he was unaware of the texts that were shared among officers’ personal cell phones, not their department-issued phones. In October 2021, Brooks retired from Antioch and took a new position with the Boise Police Department. Bernal retired at the end of December 2021.
It wasn’t always chilly between the mayor and Bernal. Following Bernal’s announcement of his retirement, Hernandez-Thorpe heaped praise upon him saying, “Ron is an impeccable human being, filled with compassion, understanding, and love. This has been demonstrated time after time in his relentless support and desire to house our unhoused neighbors, provide Antioch youth with new paths filled with opportunity, and much, much more. Ron has been a friend, confidant, and advisor. While Ron will be missed in his capacity as city manager, he and his wife will continue to be Antioch residents and neighbors to many of us.” (See related articles here and here)
This is the second time Hernandez-Thorpe has accused Bernal of something that occurred while both were serving in their respective positions. Earlier this year the mayor accused the former city manager of approving the decommissioning of the Antioch Amtrak station, which was later proven false. Bernal, with Hernandez-Thorpe’s knowledge, only approved the demolition of the building at the station. (See related article)
Questions for Hernandez-Thorpe Go Unanswered
Questions were sent Thursday morning to the mayor asking the following:
“If you’re going to blame the former city manager, who was hired in March 2017, shouldn’t you also accept at least part of the blame since you were one of his bosses and were on the council at the time?
Did you know about the texts being sent among the officers?
Since Chief Brooks was hired in May 2017 in your first year on the council and who said he was unaware of the texts as they were sent using the officers’ personal cell phones and that’s not something the department has oversight of, how could you expect the city manager to know of the texts? How could you or any of the council members be aware of them, either?
Since you twice called for the firing of all 35 officers on paid leave during the two investigations, most of whom only received the texts but didn’t send any, which if that had happened would have further depleted the number on the Antioch force by another 25 sworn officers, shouldn’t you take responsibility for contributing to the atmosphere that’s kept officers from wanting to come to work for our city?
As the mayor and one of five council members, do you accept any responsibility for the current crime problems, specifically the recent rash of 16 shootings in Antioch and lack of police officers on the force?
Do you think it’s appropriate to be campaigning during a TV interview about a new City effort to address the current increase in shootings in Antioch’s highest crime areas instead of focusing on the solutions?”
The mayor was also asked to share anything else about the matter.
But multiple attempts to reach Hernandez-Thorpe and his campaign consultant were unsuccessful prior to publication time.
Bernal Says He Didn’t Know About the Police Scandals
In addition, Bernal was also asked questions about Hernandez-Thorpe’s accusations. He was asked:
“Did you know anything about the racist and offensive police texts while you were city manager?
Did you know anything about the use of steroids by some officers?
Were you aware of any reports from within the department that some officers were paying another officer to take tests for them to pass college courses in order to increase their pay?”
Bernal was also asked if he had any other comments about the matter.
Although his campaign consultant, Matt Shupe, responded, “Were not going to engage on any of these Lamar issues/topics/stories” and shared Bernal had also been interviewed by KTVU on Thursday, the candidate later responded simply with, “No, no and no. I have no further comment.”
The election is November 5th and whichever of the three running for mayor, including second-time candidate Rakesh Christian, is victorious will serve for a four-year term.
Please check back later for any updates to this report.
the attachments to this post:
KTVU Hernandez-Thorpe interview 100924 video screenshot
