City has 83 vacancies; will restructure Police Crime Prevention Commission; Thorpe claims Barbanica, Ogorchock, others are siding with racism for opposing direct hire of police chief

By Allen D. Payton

During their meeting on Tuesday night, April 11, 2023, the Antioch City Council discussed the budget for Fiscal Years 2023-25 and the majority of members agreed to pursue a new ordinance for directly hiring the police chief. The council also decided to “reframe” the Police Crime Prevention Commission rather than disbanding it.

Budget Workshop

During the Budget Workshop before the regular meeting, Acting City Manager Forrest Ebbs reminded the council “the City is facing a $6 million deficit in the coming fiscal year.”

Finance Director Dawn Merchant said that there were “83 vacancies citywide” in staff, providing savings for the budget.

The council directed staff to return with three options for using Budget Stabilization Funds of zero, $3 million and $4 million to balance the budget.

Police Crime Prevention Commission to Be Reframed

Rather than disband it the council decided to “reframe” the Police Crime Prevention Commission. Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker volunteered to help lead the discussion. The matter will be brought back to the council for future decision.

Moves Forward With Directly Hiring Police Chief

During public comments on the matter of the council directly hiring the police chief, one resident spoke in favor, another, Melissa Case, said she was torn since the mayor has “a tendency to micromanage”.

Sandy Hartrick said she was concerned about the “checks and balances” if the council hires the police chief. “With that, no one group has all the power. If you take over the hiring and management of the police department you will have all the power.” She also shared concern that the council is moving away toward a Charter City form of government.

“Chief Ford is doing a great job. He’s working hard to change the culture,” Hartrick continued.

Another resident, Ron Mohammed said, “I’m not quite clear…in terms of the authority and how that would look. Communication between the council and the chief would be great. But I think it’s wrong Chief Ford has to fall on the sword for all the things that happened before. The micromanaging is not said when they talk about…the city manager.”

Resident Ralph Hernandez spoke next saying, “definitely, no. I do not agree with the change that is proposed. Unfortunately, tonight, you have a lot of people that have a misunderstanding of law enforcement. In fact, the council majority are too busy in their lives…they voted to take on secretaries. Now, they want to take on hiring the chief. You need to be very specific with the city manager when hiring the police chief comes up, and what you’re looking for.”

“Taking it away from the city manager. What’s next, taking away the Public Works Director, the Recreation manager?” he asked.

“I’m here to celebrate democracy. We the people elected you,” Patricia Granados said. “I would feel confident and trusting in our city council making decisions like this. Maybe even some federal oversight to put in their two cents in what is the reasoning for getting hired and getting fired.”

“I do want to clarify…in 2020, we agreed to changing the hiring process for the chief of police,” Mayor Lamar Thorpe said. “I was a huge advocate that the contract was ratified by the city council. The City Attorney said we can’t do that. It’s either one or the other.”

“Every decision made in this room is made by three. Quit believing what the blogs are telling you. It’s trash,” Thorpe said, while raising his voice. “This is not about Chief Ford, it’s about a process that started back in 2020. So, stop personalizing it.”

“OK. Bring it down a notch,” Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker said with a laugh. 

“I do remember discussing this in detail,” she said. “It’s just been my experience working in public policy for the past 14 years, city managers are not the check and balance…which is their job. The chief of police runs a department that is to be managed and sometime micromanaged by the city manager. And when the city manager fails for over a decade…is what got us here. It is within the authority of this body to make this change. We won’t be running the police department because we hire the police chief. We will be managing directly the individual who is supposed to be running the police department for transparency and accountability sake which has not happened for over a decade.”

“When we hired Cornelius Johnson, I didn’t want to give him the authority to hire and fire. But we have to give each person a chance. We gave Chief Ford a chance,” Torres-Walker said. “This isn’t the only move in light of transparency we need to make. I hope that Chief Steven Ford agrees to stay because this is necessary.”

“I think this is a mistake…because the police department is not an extension of a political arm,” said District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica. “The city manager needs to be a buffer between politicians and enforcing law. This won’t be just this council it will set policy for years and years to come. It’s not about Chief Ford it’s about the office of the Chief of Police. I think this is a mistake and I do not support it.”

“Yeah, and it’s that buffer that got us to where we are, today,” District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson shot back to applause from the audience. “A couple weeks ago I was on the fence about this. But in light of events over weeks…and today with the texts, it’s obvious there needs to be that line with the Chief of Police. Because that buffer didn’t work.”

“I’ve been through five city managers and the buffer is not working,” she added.

“If this is the will of the council majority how will this affect Chief Ford,” District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock asked City Attorney Thomas L. Smith.

“If you want to give direction to change the structure, we would come back with an ordinance,” Smith responded. “Once the ordinance is passed…the impact it has on an individual police chief…if there is a contract in place, we would have to look at how that would interact with the ordinance.”

“I am not for this,” Ogorchock said. “We’ve never had the accountability with the police chief, before. I’m for that type of vision before anything else.”

“Even if you got a report every six months you wouldn’t have any authority,” Torres-Walker responded.

Thorpe spoke last saying, “I’m for this. I’ve always been for this. The choice is really simple. Either we do this or stay on the side of racism. Come back with an ordinance please.”

All police officers not given performance evaluation since 2017; Thorpe takes swipe at two officers, former Mayor Wright; Wilson apologizes for trusting past police chiefs

By Allen D. Payton

During their meeting on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, the Antioch City Council received the 2022 Annual Police Department Update from Chief Steve Ford. He informed the council and public that there are 99 filled sworn officer positions on the force out of a total of 115 authorized by the council, 61 on full-duty status, 38 assigned to patrol and seven in the academy.

“We’re going to be OK. We’re going to do the work and keep the city safe,” Ford stated.

The Chief also reported that the new Shot Spotter system has been installed as of March 15th “for mitigating gun violence”.

“We’ve had 84 since installation, that’s four per day,” he shared. “That shows you how much gun play we have in this city.”

“The first part of the puzzle is that we have good relationships with the people we serve,” Ford said.

“The police alone can’t keep this community safe,” he continued. “Without community support, without the community serving as most valuable resource.”

“Since my tenure as of April 23, 2022 we’ve been very intentional in changing” several areas, he explained.

He spoke of putting all officers through a Blue Courage course. “It’s going to be a top-down approach to enhancing our officers’ capacity. We have to have the right mindset and heart set to do this work.”

“We’ve revitalized our PAL program,” Ford continued.

He concluded his report speaking of revitalizing the public information officer position and launched the public surveys partnering with Zen City.

Council Members Question Chief Ford

“I have to apologize for this community because me, in my naivete made me turn my head thinking this was going to get done. Here we are on police chief number four,” Wilson stated. “What I do want to see is a game plan going forward. I want to see a lot of what you addressed. Racial bias and misconduct. I want to see this follow up report every three-to-six months come before Council. So, I will be apprised. I know Chief Ford, you’ve come into a lot and you have a lot to get done. My expectations will be high. I haven’t heard a plan going forward so people don’t die unnecessarily.

“I also want to say to some people…some people came in with their pre-story in their head these three members on council don’t want the police department to do well. We want the department to do well. I stand up here, proudly, of the work I’ve done up here. Never again am I going to hear ‘she’s weak’ because I’m up here not screaming. My father taught me, ‘still waters run deep’. You don’t have to be the loudest person in this room.”

“I want a plan of action and how we’re dealing with these individuals who said these ungodly things,” she said to Chief Ford.

“We have 18 compliance measures (from the DOJ) to make sure we’re doing what we’re supposed to do,” Ford responded. “I will do everything I can to reframe this department. How things are done politically in this organization. The organization will tell you since I’ve been there, I’ve been very intentional in ensuring organizational change. It takes five to seven years.”

“If you guys would like I can give you the full departmental plan…three goals, 15 strategies,” he stated.

“This is something that has been here long before the four chiefs. This has been festering for years,” District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson stated.

“I’m here, now. I’ll own it and I’ll fix it,” Ford stated.

“Thank you, Chief Ford,” Torres-Walker said then pointed out several items in his update that she appreciated.

“You have…arrest statistics for 2022,” she said, requesting more details. “Not every felony offense is a violent crime.”

“Our top 10 calls for service have nothing do with violent crime,” she stated.

“I appreciate the phone policy,” Torres-Walker said. “It’s too late for those other officers.”

“I know you said it’s going to take several years to implement and that most of us won’t be here to see it,” she added.

Mayor Lamar Thorpe was last to ask the chief questions, wanting to know how the department handled patrol with the lack of staffing.

“We collapsed the Swing Watch. We recently went to a 12-hour shift. The overlap is an hour on each side,” Ford responded.

Thorpe asked about investigations of complaints.

“Investigations should be timely and contemporaneous to the situation. You have one year window from the time the department receives a complaint…according to government code,” Ford responded. “If it’s a case that requires discipline, you can’t impose discipline after that one year has passed.”

“It’s up to the organization and the investigator to be diligent knowing we have that one year,” the chief continued.

“We haven’t had any complaints that have gone over a year since you’ve been here,” Thorpe asked.

“Not that I’m aware,” Ford responded.

Thorpe asked him who handles the investigations and Ford offered a list of officers, including Sgt. Lauren Bledsoe who is the vice president of the Antioch Police Officers Association.

Thorpe then asked about the police union and shared his concern that the organizations vice president was one of those who investigated his fellow officers.

Thorpe then asked about performance evaluations of officers saying, “Have we been evaluating our officers every year?”

“We’ve been trying to work with HR for a very long time…and to revamp the evaluations,” said Captain Trevor Schnitzius.

“When was the last time our officers were all evaluated?” Thorpe asked.

“If I had to make my best guess that would be 2017,” Schnitzius responded to groans from the audience.

“I’m glad to know this process is starting again,” Thorpe stated. “We need to make sure our officers are evaluated.”

“What steps are we taking on racial bias?” the mayor asked.

“That’s a cultural thing…and I’ve been working on that since I got here,” Ford responded.

“How are we collecting the data?” Thorpe asked about racial justice reporting.

“I don’t know. I can find out for you, sir,” Ford responded.

“You talked about transparency, I believe you,” Thorpe continued. “We really have to look at data.”

“We have a new policy around text messages,” the mayor said.

“Cell phones?” Ford asked.

“Yes, sir,” Thorpe responded. “You know, if we had Early Intervention Systems in place, we could have avoided a lot of this without terminations,” Thorpe stated. “I look forward to hearing more about that.”

“We can certainly give you an overview on that,” Ford said.

“We haven’t heard necessarily about these text messages…we’re talking about culture, here,” Thorpe stated. “We haven’t heard from command staff, and I know you’re limited in what you can say.”

City Attorney Thomas L. Smith the interrupted the two warning them, “I just want to make sure we’re not venturing into territory…and you giving your opinion on something currently under investigation.”

“I’ll ask the questions and you can decide whether you want to answer or not. I’ll leave it at that,” Thorpe then said. “We’ve got to manage up, too, that’s including the city council, too.”

“We had people protesting down Second Street about Michael Mellone and Steve Aiello,” the mayor said, referring to 2020 protests about two of the department’s sworn officers in leadership, and then took swipes at former Mayor Sean Wright who he defeated in 2020. “Our mayor ran from every chance to speak to the media. He hid out in his office from the protesters. At the end of the day, he was coordinating with the police union.”

By Allen D. Payton

At the beginning of the April 11, 2023 Antioch City Council meeting, City Attorney Thomas L. Smith reported out from Closed Session that on motion by Councilman Mike Barbanica and seconded by Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock the city council on a 3-2 vote authorized a settlement and severance with former Public Works Director and City Engineer John Samuelson. He will be paid $144,714.44 and a settlement of $100,000 for a total of $244,714.44. Councilwoman Monica Wilson voted yes, while Mayor Lamar Thorpe and Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker voted no.

As previously reported, Samuelson was terminated on December 16, 2022 by City Manager Con Johnson. While he didn’t sue the City he threatened to do so for wrongful termination if they didn’t agree to settle with him.

When reached for comment Samuelson said, “Just grateful that council approved it and ready to move on to working with Pittsburg.” He is now that city’s Public Works Director-City Engineer.

Will discuss future relevance of Police Crime Prevention Commission; Chief to give department’s annual 411 on 4-11

By Allen D. Payton

During their regular meeting on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, the Antioch City Council will consider a proposal to hire the next police chief directly instead of the city manager. They will also hear the 2022 Annual Police Department Update from Chief Steve Ford and discuss the “future relevance of the Police Crime Prevention Commission”, now that the council has formed a Police Oversight Commission.

Prior to their regular meeting at 7:00 p.m., the council will meet in Closed Session at 5:00 p.m. on an anticipated lawsuit and real estate negotiations with Con Fire for property located at E. 18th and Wilson Streets. That will be followed by a Budget Study Session at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at 200 H Street in Antioch’s historic, downtown Rivertown.

Police Chief Hiring by Council Discussion

According to the City staff report on the discussion of the council directly hiring the police chief (Item 5), “City councils are granted wide latitude in deciding how a city will be administered and

operated. The Government Code provides a city council with the statutory authority to appoint and remove the chief of police.”

Antioch currently has a council-manager form of government in which the city manager hires each of the department heads, including the police chief. The council is being asked to “provide direction to staff regarding whether to prepare an ordinance changing the organizational structure of the City’s administration by transferring, from the City Manager to the City Council, the authority to appoint, supervise, and remove the Chief of Police.”

The idea was proposed in 2021 by Mayor Lamar Thorpe, Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker and District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson. Furthermore, according to the staff report, “At the November 23, 2021 meeting, former City Manager Ron Bernal prepared a staff report on the City’s “Police Chief Recruitment and Hiring Process”. Councilmember Barbanica made a motion to approve the policy prepared by City Manager Bernal. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Ogorchock, but it failed with only Councilmembers Barbanica and Ogorchock voting in favor of it. Mayor Pro Tem Wilson and Councilmember Torres-Walker voted against the motion. Mayor Thorpe was absent.”

But no additional action was taken on the proposal, until now, following the council placing City Manager Con Johnson on paid leave as well as the two investigations of police officers, one by the FBI and DA’s office for alleged “crimes of moral turpitude” and the other internal investigation for the recently reported alleged racist and other offensive text messages. (See related articles here, here, here and here)

According to the City’s contract with Ford, who started in his permanent position on October 23, 2022, it runs through October 22, 2027. Should the council direct staff to bring back a proposed ordinance for a vote and it was adopted, they could then terminate Ford’s contract.

However, if the council does so without cause, the chief must be given six months advance notice of his termination and following he would be paid a severance of his full salary for up to six months or until he finds “comparable employment” for which he is paid 75% or more of his current $256,272 annual salary plus benefits. If the council fires Ford for cause, then no advanced notice is required, and no severance is required to be paid.

Questions for Council Members

The five council members were asked why the matter is on Tuesday night’s agenda since Ford’s contract lasts until October 2027 and if there are plans to terminate him and hire his replacement. They were also asked, if so, would they pursue a nationwide search for a new police chief, as both Torres-Walker said she wanted, and Thorpe confirmed he would do for a new city manager.

District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock was the only one to respond prior to publication time. She wrote, “Item #5 was a shock to see on the agenda.

I have no intention of firing Chief Ford, nor do I have a desire to request for the Acting City Manager Ebbs to do so either. Chief Ford is doing an amazing job with all the obstacles being tossed at him. He comes to work daily with a positive attitude and a love for the City of Antioch. Chief Ford will handle all these distractions upon completion of the investigation.

We should remind ourselves not to convict individuals until all the facts have been discovered. So many times, we want to shout guilty before all the evidence is presented, we need not to do that.”

As previously reported, Torres-Walker recently offered her public support for Ford. In an April 6th post on her official Facebook page she wrote, “I trust…the Leadership of Chief Ford.”

The meeting can be viewed in person, where public comments can only be offered, or via livestream on the City’s website, on Comcast cable TV channel 24 or AT&T U-verse channel 99.

Please check back later for any updates to this report.

Union president included; Thorpe wants review of all complaints over last 6 to 8 years

By Allen D. Payton

According to an East Bay Times article published Friday evening, April 7, 2023, Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Clare Maier, while adjudicating a felony case of suspects arrested by Antioch Police, released the names of 17 officers who are “accused of using racist slurs, jokes and memes in text messages over a period of more than two years.” In addition, Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton announced on Friday that the judge ruled to have the texts released to the defense in that case.

In response, Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe posted a Facebook Live video on his official page, Saturday afternoon, April 8, 2023, expressing his “profound disappointment” with the officers and called for an independent audit. He specifically called out the Antioch Police Officers Association (APOA) union president, Lt. Rick Hoffman for being included.

According to the Times’ report, the other officers named include Devon Wenger, Eric Rombough, Andrea Rodriguez, Calvin Prieto, Morteza Amiri who already have been placed on leave amid the FBI investigation. The list also includes Joshua Evans, Jonathan Adams, Scott Duggar, Robert Gerber, Thomas Smith, Brock Marcotte, Aaron Hughes, Brayton Milner, John Ramirez and Kyle Smith, as well as Tim Manly who resigned from the department.

Hoffman, Police Chief Steve Ford and department PIO Ashley Crandell were asked for the timeframe the texts were sent and for any other response. In addition, the APOA’s attorney, Mike Rains was also asked for a response to the situation.

Thorpe’s Remarks

After thanking those who offered their condolences for the recent passing of his father, reading from prepared remarks Thorpe said, “On Friday afternoon, Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Clare Maier released the names of 17 Antioch police officers who allegedly were unafraid to use racist language.

There are no words to express my profound disappointment especially given that one of the named officers serves as president of the Antioch Police Union.

While Antioch has worked hard to become one of the Bay Area’s most racially diverse cities, this will undoubtedly leave an embarrassing stain on our community.

The culture at the Antioch Police Department is a problem and has long been a huge legal and financial liability for the city, which is on full display today.

The culture at the department requires further exploration including how the hell all of this alleged misconduct could go on for so long without anyone on the command staff noticing– lieutenant and above.

Therefore, I’m calling for an independent investigation of the internal affairs process specifically looking at all complaints within the last six to eight years from the nature of complaints to their dispositions.

I am also seriously concerned about complaints that have not been investigated and are now outside of the statute of limitations. I want a complete review of that as well.

Moreover, we need a complete independent audit of our hiring and promotions practices so that the Council can implement measures to better root out individuals with certain biases. This idea was part of my original police reform package that I presented to the City Council in 2020 but has yet to be examined.

Lastly, our police-reform efforts to this point are missing the forest for the trees because this is about culture. I agree with Vice Mayor Tamisha Torres-Walker on conducting some kind of police equity audit of the Antioch Police Department to measure bias in our enforcement efforts and ultimately pursue measures that help eliminate racist policies, practices, and behaviors.

We will hold anyone accountable that has allowed this culture to continue whether you’ve been here for a year or 20 years, and regardless of your rank.

In my first 30 days in office, I had to deal with two in-custody deaths; in less than a year, a failed recall effort fueled by the idea of protecting the police department; then in year two I was hauled into the DA’s office to be briefed about a very serious FBI investigation of the Antioch Police Department; and now, on year three we’re dealing with alleged racism.

Our culture of acceptance is wrong. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

The fact of the matter is that our goal of a strong police department will not materialize until every resident in our city regardless of race and socio-economic background can feel that they have a trusting relationship with our police officers.

If you’re a supporter of law enforcement, you should support these reforms as they help separate officers who are committed to the badge and have played by the rules and those who have no business being police officers.”

One thing the mayor said was incorrect. One of the two in-custody deaths he mentioned referred to Angelo Quinto’s. However, he died in the hospital three days after the incident with police and was not in police custody at the time. (See related article)

Mayor Pro Tem Torres-Walker Responds

In a post on her official Facebook page Saturday afternoon, Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker shared a link to the Times’ article and wrote, “We can no longer be bystanders and action must be taken to correct this culture of racism and anti-blackness in policing starting with Antioch.

I haven’t seen any of the text messages referenced in this article and to be honest I’m not sure I want to. What I will say is that my peers on the City Council and the community at large should take these miscarriages of justice seriously.

I also want to take a moment to acknowledge those in the Antioch police department who work hard every day to provide none bias policing service to our community as public safety continues to be our primary concern moving forward.”

In a previous message posted on Thursday, Torres-Walker wrote, “Antioch Police Union Attorney Rains criticized Mayor Lamar Thorpe’s press conference for allegedly violating the right to confidentially and due process for a few officers suspected of crimes against the public while entrenched in a culture of racism.

Chief Ford has taken actions addressing recruitment, assessment, hiring, retention, promotion, and agency culture since April of last year which included a hefty incentive package to bring new talent with a community policing mindset that is culturally responsive.

Willful ignorance can no longer be the order of the day. We can address the public safety needs of Antioch residents, and lift those in law enforcement who are doing their best while holding their counterparts accountable for their roles in how we got here.

I trust my peers on the council to do what is best for the public at this time and the Leadership of Chief Ford.

I ask the public for grace, your prayers, and your support.

We will get through this together.”

Police Chief Steve Ford, the department’s PIO Ashley Crandell, Lt. Hoffman and the other APOA leadership were asked for the timeframe in which the alleged texts were sent and for any other responses. In addition, the APOA’s attorney, Mike Rains and Councilmembers Monica Wilson, Lori Ogorchock and Mike Barbanica were also asked for responses to both the Times’ article and the mayor’s remarks.

APOA Attorney Responds

In response, APOA attorney Rains wrote, “I have been asked by several local television stations for comment, and I am telling everyone that I am not in a position to comment at the moment, because I have not seen any texts, and have not participated in discussions which the DA’s office has apparently had with the court and with counsel for the defendants in the underlying case.  In retrospect, I would have liked to have been involved in such discussions, and believe the individual Officers have legal rights which I do not think were adequately considered, because they did not have a voice, either individually, or through counsel in the discussion. The Chief has ordered the commencement of an investigation of the most recent allegations by an ‘outside’ investigator, and the officers and our office plan to fully cooperate with the investigator and answer all questions.”

UPDATE: Barbanica Says There Must Be Accountability But Premature to Assume Anything Before Investigation is Complete

“Racist statements, racist comments at any level are wrong,” Barbanica stated. “However, I don’t know the content of these text messages. What we should be looking at here is, everyone is entitled to due process. It is premature to assume anything at this point until the investigation is complete. Let’s don’t lose sight that there are many hard-working men and women in the Antioch Police Department who are serving every day to protect this community and I don’t want to assume those under investigation are guilty of anything. If racist statements were made there must be accountability. Let’s wait and see what these texts actually say.”

None of the others responded prior to publication time.

Please check back later for any updates to this report.

 

 

Claims Police Chief Ford hired outside investigator

“…the initiation of the investigation and the subjects of the investigation are not matters for public disclosure under existing law”…“the mayor single-handedly violated the officers’ right to confidentiality by saying anything at all”…“created far more ‘rumors’ about this investigation, and adverse impacts on the police department and community, than he allayed.” – APOA attorney Mike Rains

Thorpe says claim he “gagged” Ford preventing him from participating in press conference “inaccurate”

By Allen D. Payton

This morning, Friday, March 31, 2023, the attorney for the Antioch Police Officers’ Association, Mike Rains issued a statement in response to Mayor Lamar Thorpe’s Thursday press conference on the report of additional officers being placed on leave and under investigation for alleged offensive texts. Those officers are believed to be in addition to the seven remaining officers on the force that have been under investigation by the FBI and Contra Costa DA’s office since last March for alleged “crimes of moral turpitude”. Rains, with the law firm of Rains Lucia Stern St. Phalle & Silver, claims Thorpe violated state law and the confidentiality of the officers. He further claims Police Chief Steve Ford placed the involved officers on leave and hired an outside investigator to conduct the investigation.

Statement from RLS Attorney Mike Rains

“Our office represents the Antioch Police Officers’ Association and its individual members in employment related matters. We issue this statement in response to the statement made yesterday by City of Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe.

At the outset, it should be recognized that, despite a recent article in a local newspaper purporting to announce a new investigation by the Antioch Police Department of officers in addition to the ongoing joint investigation by the FBI and the District Attorney’s Office, the initiation of the investigation and the subjects of the investigation are not matters for public disclosure under existing law as set forth in Penal Code section 832.7.  Although the newspaper at issue may have published an article from an unknown and undisclosed ‘source’ that was not verified as credible, and which relates to a ‘confidential’ personnel matter under California law, the mayor chose to compound the violation of state law by holding his own self-serving press conference, which prompted questions from some in attendance as to ‘why are we here?’ and ‘why isn’t the police chief here making this announcement?’

The mayor’s stated purpose, as much as we can discern, is that the placement of additional officers on administrative leave would cause ‘staffing issues’ within the police department that might affect the public. But that “concern” was belied by the very fact that the mayor had no idea as to the current staffing level at the police department and could not even tell his audience how many patrol officers are on the force. He also professed, at the beginning of this saga, his ‘respect for confidentiality and the right of officers to due process of law.’ But, as pointed out above, the mayor single-handedly violated the officers’ right to confidentiality by saying anything at all. And with respect to the officers’ right to due process, those rights were trounced when the mayor declared the officers ‘bad apples’ and expressed his ‘serious concern’ for the conduct under investigation.  In short, this ‘press conference’ was simply another demonstration by this mayor of his belief, demonstrated by his own conduct resulting in criminal charges and massive civil judgments, that he need not conform his behavior to provisions of the Penal Code or to the laws restricting sexual harassment and discrimination of others in the workplace.

Where was the police chief, Mr. Mayor?  In all likelihood he was ‘gagged’ by the mayor and specifically instructed not to be present. If the mayor was truly concerned about the impact of this latest investigation on ‘staffing’ within the police department, who better than Chief Ford to discuss that issue?  Why didn’t the well-intentioned mayor simply ‘order’ or ‘direct’ the chief to give the briefing, and stand beside him in support of the chief’s statement?  The truth is, as the mayor was forced to concede, the police chief advised the city manager about the new investigation, as he was required to do, and the city manager advised the mayor in accordance with internal reporting requirements of the City.  The ‘truth’ of the matter is that the police chief, not the mayor, made the decision to place involved officers in this NON-CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION on administrative leave and asked for the immediate appointment of an ‘outside’ qualified investigator to conduct a thorough and objective investigation of the allegations, which he is required by law to review and adjudicate – something Chief Ford has been doing as a law enforcement executive for many years.  And the ‘truth’ of the matter is also that Chief Ford made these decisions (he could have elected to keep the officers under investigation in their current work assignments) after speaking with the district attorney of the County about the situation. That discussion did not involve Mayor Thorpe because it was and still remains a matter that should be handled by the imminently qualified and capable police chief who was not even invited to be present.

As if Mayor Thorpe did not do enough of a disservice to the confidentiality and due process rights of the officers by conducting a disaster of a ‘press conference,’ he did nothing to allay the ‘rumors’ he said were created by the newspaper article, which he admitted ‘was not good.’  With his own evasion and doublespeak on full-display, the mayor single-handedly created far more ‘rumors’ about this investigation, and adverse impacts on the police department and community, than he allayed.”

Thorpe Says Claim of Chief Being “Gagged” “Inaccurate”, Won’t Say If He Was Invited to Press Conference, Refers Additional Questions to City Manager

Thorpe was emailed Rains’ statement for a possible response and asked if he invited Chief Ford to join him at his press conference, and if so if Ford declined or wasn’t available. Thorpe was also asked if Ford wasn’t invited to participate, why not so he could have been there to answer some of the questions that were posed by the media.

Thorpe responded briefly writing, “That would be inaccurate and I’m directing any further questions to Forrest as I’m out of town.”

The additional questions were then sent to Acting City Manager Forrest Ebbs. He responded, “I do not have any comment at this time or answers to your questions.”

Questions for Chief Ford Go Unanswered

In addition, Ford was also sent questions, and copied to Lt. Michael Mellone, director of the department’s Community Engagement Unit and PIO Ashley Crandell asking if he was “gagged” by Mayor Thorpe and prevented from participating in his press conference yesterday. Ford was also asked if Thorpe invited him or anyone from the department to attend and be available to answer questions from the media, and if so, did the chief decline and was he unavailable.

Neither Ford nor the department’s spokespeople responded prior to publication time at 12:30 p.m.

UPDATE: Mellone is out of the country until April 10th participating in an international masters program.

Please check back for any other updates to this report.

 

 

In spite of traffic concerns from neighbors

Barbanica, Ogorchock want to wait for funding source, first

“I also know I’ve been here long enough it’s not going to cost $12 million…” – Mayor Thorpe

By Allen D. Payton

Julianne Davis said she lives on W. 10th Street in the 200 block. My window looks right out on the site they’re talking about building on. She spoke about the traffic and parking issues on the street and “33 accidents right at that spot.” My big concern is parking, traffic, accidents.

“Can we please deal with the traffic, parking and accidents before moving forward,” Davis stated. “The Portuguese hall has parties every week. If we want to have an event we don’t have parking.”

Resident Gary Wells spoke next saying, “Great concept. I give you guys your do for trying to do something at that spot. But $14 million it seems like it could be put somewhere else. Downtown. Rivertown needs something for our youth. We’re going to have to meet somewhere in the middle, there. It’s dangerous on that street. But to bring this at this corner, I stay right across the street from it. I’m going to be really, really irritated if we don’t do something about the traffic, first.

“We talk about revitalization. We took all of those non-profits out of that building. I’m sure we can take this $14 million and do something better. For safety reasons I say ‘no’. We have to involve safety and involve the community, there. Or I’m going to sell my house and move from Antioch. My neighbors, we’re tired and fed up. We don’t want this building built before something’s done with safety on that street. We have people breaking into cars.

Resident Leslie May said, “I still work for one of the non-profits that’s in that business. But I’m glad we’re out of that building. We had a rodent problem, breathing problems. I did say to the council, ‘you guys going to open this, here, you better do something about this traffic.’ I sit in the back of my yard and hear horrible crashes…every single week.”

You’re going to have to do something. Hopefully, we will get traffic calming devices. I’m sure something has to happen before that building is completed.”

Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker said, “I’m excited about this opportunity…it’s the type of capital improvement project we need for the community. Our intent is not to put a building into a spot that’s going to be dangerous for the community. In one of the slides, there’s a turning lane into the parking lot. I don’t know how long these problems have been happening, because I’ve only been here nine years. But I know they’ve got to improve before the opening. We have youth who live in District 1 who can’t always get over to southeast.”

District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson, who served on the council subcommittee dealing with the department and proposed building with Torres-Walker, said, “I’m really excited about this building. It’s not only for the youth it’s for all individuals who have issues…to share knowledge, be in community, break bread. Yes, we know there are the challenges around traffic we can work on. I just feel that the work we are doing…we’re not breaking ground tomorrow…it’s going to be a positive for the community, not just for District 1.”

“People have mentioned $14 million, wow, that’s a lot of money,” Torres-Walker said. “Is there active fundraising happening…to supplement the funding? she asked of Tasha Johnson.

“Yeah. That’s the hope. We wanted to get the conversations started on approval of the building,” Johnson responded who spoke of grant writing. “Hopefully, we can find a source or two.”

“My concern is, I think we need to look at the budget before we start making commitments for funding,” District 3 Councilman Mike Barbanica said.

“I love the design of the building and believe it can be a positive for the community,” said District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock. “We don’t have the funding for L Street. Until we have the funding and the budget’s clear and know where the funding is going to come from, I can’t go forward.”

“It’s a couple things,” said Acting Public Works Director Scott Bunting in response to a question by Torres-Walker. “Moving forward does need some kind of commitment. The construction doesn’t have a budget.”

He then spoke of the traffic calming devices and a possible grant to pay for them.

Forrest Ebbs, “The step that’s missing in the schedule is the funding. If you move forward with this you’re aiming very high. It’s clear this is not going to be a 100% General Fund project. But that doesn’t mean it’s not going to be funded. I would say the next step would be to explore funding options.”

“I don’t think it’s prepared for a commitment of total funds,” City Attorney Thomas Smith added.

“We did a survey, once, a few years ago. One of the things that polled very, very high was a municipal center…to centralize all these different services,” Mayor Lamar Thorpe stated. “In my head, there may still be opportunity to work with, like the county. Because they’ve been talking about a new library for a long time. I don’t know, it’s just an idea.”

“I was surprised by this. I thought we were going to stick to the confines of the existing building,” he continued. “I appreciate where we could go with this. But I also know I’ve been here long enough it’s not going to cost $12 million. We redid City Hall…and the price tag kept going up and going up. Effectively our hands were tied and we had to finish what we started. Those aren’t the final numbers, so, we have to budget accordingly.”

“So, there is no funding for this, already. We’re going to have to figure out the funding at a later time,” the mayor stated. “Figuring out the cost is going to be a hard thing to do. I can be for this.”

Barbanica said, “no, I would rather go the other route and find funding, first.”

Torres-Walker said, “yes.”

Ogorchock said, “funding, first.” She then suggested getting the County to sell the library on W. 18th Street to the City for $1.00 and add a second floor to that building.

“I’m confused by funding, first,” Thorpe said.

“This report is premature is what you’re saying,” Wilson said to City staff members.

“We cast a vision, first. We need to start targeting…if we pair the project with the funding,” Acting City Manager Forrest Ebbs said.

“I think we’re moving forward, so you’ve got direction,” Thorpe said. “Wow, this is a big deal. But not without making W. 10th Street safe.”

Ogorchock switches position, joins Barbanica, Torres-Walker

Thorpe, Wilson continue support of ban

Mayor shares personal information about his name and father

By Allen D. Payton

At the beginning of the regular Antioch City Council meeting Tuesday night, March 28, 2023, Mayor Lamar Thorpe spoke about a personal matter, saying his father has cancer and began hospice, today and that he might be missing meetings in the near future. He will begin the legal process tomorrow to add his father’s last name of Hernandez to Thorpe. The mayor shared that last October when he missed a council meeting, he was in L.A. visiting his father when he was first diagnosed.

Thorpe also shared he was baptized as Martín Hernandez, but his parents could not adopt him as his birth mother would not relinquish her parental rights. That’s why all his siblings have the last name Hernandez and he’s the only one with the last name Thorpe.

Council Majority Supports Reversing Tobacco Business Bans

After hearing from Antioch business owners who sell tobacco products complaining about the ordinance previously passed by the council on a 3-2 vote banning the sale of certain products and preventing them from selling or passing their business on to a family member, District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock changed course and agreed to a reversal. She was joined by District2 Councilman Mike Barbanica and Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker who cast the two votes against the ordinance. (See related article)

Ogorchock wanted to reverse the ban on the sale of little cigars, or cigarillos, and requiring them to be sold in packs of at least twenty, which includes products sold under the Swisher Sweet brand name that are commonly sold in two packs; the requirement that large cigars must be sold in packs of at least six, including conventional cigars weighing more than three pounds per thousand; as well as the ban on the sale of any package of cigarettes, little cigars, or cigars may sold for less than $10, including applicable fees.

Barbanica spoke next saying, “this is ridiculous. We need to start over. If we want to ban new tobacco businesses from coming into town, fine. But this goes too far. We need to follow state law and make it a level playing field.”

“I agree with everything Councilman Barbanica just said,” Torres-Walker said.

Mayor Lamar Thorpe and District 4 Councilwoman Monica Wilson opposed the changes and continued to support the bans.

On the matter of selling or transferring their business to a family member Barbanica said, “My position is they should be able to sell their business if they want to.”

“If they want to sell it I shouldn’t be the one telling them who they can sell to,” Ogorchock chimed in.

“Selling it and passing it down to a family member,” Torres-Walker agreed when polled by Thorpe.

Both Thorpe and Wilson opposed the change. The mayor said he would work with staff to return with the changes by the council majority for a future vote, to applause from the business owners and their supporters in the audience.

“In the meantime, the ban remains. Please comply,” he said to them.