Provided courtesy of APD.

Sworn staffing still in the mid-90’s

Antioch Police officers and staff participated in the Tip-A-Cop fundraiser at Chili’s. Photo courtesy of APD

By Allen Payton

During the March 13 Antioch City Council meeting, Police Chief Tammany Brooks gave his first annual report since assuming his position, last year. He offered some good news and some bad news.  The good news is from 2016 to 2017 violent crime in Antioch is down 20.1%. However, since most crimes are property crimes, and they were up 4%, overall Part I crimes were about the same having decreased only 0.1%, plateauing after a three-year decrease.

Larceny

Auto theft increased 24% from 862 incidents in 2016 to 1,072 incidents in 2017. But APD was able to recover 96% of the stolen vehicles in 2016 and 94.5% in 2017. Shoplifting dropped by 10%, but Other Larceny increased 23% from 460 incidents in 2016 to 565 in 2017 for total increase in larceny of 12%.

Burglary

More good news was in the residential burglary category, which continued to decrease from 651 incidents in 2015, to 568 in 2016 and then to 339 in 2017. But, business burglary increased to 250 in 2017 after a decrease of 211 to 194 between 2015 and 2016.

Call For Service & Response Times

Average dispatch call answering times have decreased, so has the time from call received to when the officer arrives on the scene by over a minute between 2016 and 2017. But calls for service for the Community Policing Bureau increased from 87,285 to 89,321, continuing a four-year trend from a base amount of 80,404 in 2014.

Sworn Officer Staffing

The year ended with the department having a total of 94 sworn police officers on the force out of 103 authorized, which is a total of five additional officers from the Measure C half-cent sales tax. (However, the chief’s report states there have been 12 officers added to the force, by continuing to use the council’s alternative figure of 82 officers which were on the force when Measure C passed in November 2013, as the base figure. That’s in spite of the fact 89 sworn officers the department had when the measure was placed on the ballot, and the mayor and council promised the voters an additional 22 officers if Measure C passed). As of the latest new hire in February, there are currently 96 sworn officers on the force. That places Antioch at the lowest level of police officers per 1,000 population of cities of similar size in the county, East and North Bay.

Volunteer Hours & Value

The Volunteers In Police Service (VIPS) provided 9,520.49 hours of community service for a total value of $270,953.15 and 16 Explorers provided over 2,400 hours of volunteer time.  The 56 volunteers in Animal Services provided 5,984 hours of service for a value of $170,304.64.

The council members thanked Chief Brooks for his report and the police officers standing in the back of the council chambers for their service, but none of them asked how he planned to hire the additional 15 officers needed to reach the 111 sworn officers promised from Measure C funds.

See the chief’s complete report, here: APD 2017 Annual Report-Final

Emily Courchesne

By Jimmy Lee, Director of Public Affairs, Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff

A $10,000 reward is being offered by the family of murder victim Emily Courchesne for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect(s) in her killing.

On Friday, October 6, 2017, at about 10:05 AM, Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a “Medical – PD” call at a residence on the 24000 block of Marsh Creek Road in unincorporated Contra Costa County near Byron.

Deputies found Courchesne, a Danville resident, deceased inside the home. Detectives later determined it was a homicide. Detectives believe Courchesne was killed that week sometime between Wednesday evening and Thursday early morning. She had been housesitting at the residence which is on a farm in Byron.

Anyone with any information on this case is asked to contact the Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600 or call the anonymous tip lines at (925) 313-1166 or (866) 846-3592. Tips can also be emailed to: tips@so.cccounty.us.

One of the three suspects being arrested. Photo by APD

From the Antioch Police Facebook page

Monday evening, March 5, 2018, Antioch Police Officer Blumberg located a reported stolen vehicle on Mahogany Way. The driver of the vehicle, a 22-year-old female from Pittsburg, pulled into the Burger King parking lot and stopped without incident. She, along with two passengers, a 24-year-old Martinez man, and a 27-year-old male from Walnut Grove were all detained at the scene.

The vehicle was found to be reported stolen out of San Mateo County. All three subjects were arrested, and the case remains under investigation.

The gun used in the attempted robbery found by Antioch Police located in the car occupied by the suspects. Photo by APD

From Antioch Police Facebook page

On Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018 at 12:14 am, Antioch Police Officers were dispatched to a report of an armed robbery at the Denny’s at 4823 Lone Tree Way. Three suspects entered the restaurant and ordered everyone to the ground. One suspect brandished a firearm, but all three fled before taking anything.

Witnesses gave a clear description of the suspects, the involved vehicle and the weapon they used. The business also had video surveillance that was reviewed by officers which captured the incident and the suspects. A detailed description of the suspects was obtained and distributed to all officers on duty.

Two hours later, at 2:15 am, while on routine patrol, Officer Inabnett saw a similar vehicle on G Street in downtown and contacted the occupants. Officer Duff was able to identify three of the occupants of the vehicle as the suspects in the robbery.

During a search of the vehicle, the firearm used in the robbery was located under a seat. As a result, a 20-year-old Oakley resident and two juveniles were arrested. The adult suspect was transported to County Jail and the two juvenile suspects were transported to Juvenile Hall.

This is another example of our citizens and officers working together to ensure the safety of our community.

Three Antioch Police officers at the scene of the shooting that left one man dead next to the white car. Small yellow cones mark the locations of bullet casings. Photo by Allen Payton

By Lieutenant D. Bittner #3252, Antioch Police Investigations Division

On Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2018 at approximately 7:59 pm, Antioch Police Department officers were dispatched to the 900 block of W. 3rd Street on the report of a shooting. Upon arrival officers located two gunshot victims.

One victim was an adult male who was critically wounded and passed away at the scene. The second victim was an adult female who was also critically wounded. The female victim was transported from the scene to a local hospital and is still in critical condition.

The case is currently under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925)778-2441. You may also text-a-tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

New Antioch Police Officer Shane Cole with Chief Tammany Brooks following the oath of office ceremony on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2017. Photo by APD

From the Antioch Police Department Facebook page

On Tuesday, February 20, 2018, the Antioch Chief of Police swore in lateral officer, Shane Cole.

Shane grew up in Antioch and graduated from Antioch High School in 2002. Shortly after graduating High School, Shane enlisted in the Marine Corps and left for boot camp. Shane eventually became an infantry mortarman and was deployed twice before re-enlisting to become a combat skills instructor. Shane was honorably discharged at the rank of Sergeant in 2010.

After returning to the Bay Area in 2014, Shane was hired by the Modesto Police Department and graduated from the Stanislaus Sheriff’s Regional Training Center in September 2015. Shane was assigned to patrol before accepting a job with the City of Antioch.

Shane has been married to his wife, Maisie, for 13 years and they have 3 children, ages 1 1/2 years old, 7 years old, and 11 years old. In his free time, Shane enjoys spending time with family and friends and enjoys the outdoors.

A fun fact about Shane is during a military deployment in Singapore, he won a hula-hoop contest by keeping 17 hula-hoops going at once.

That brings the total sworn officers on the force to 96, because the department had a reduction of six officers last year, according to Chief Tammany Brooks.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

As of 1:30 PM on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2017 eight people had contributed $2,295 to the effort begun on Monday.

Dear Editor:

I understand how busy you are and appreciate the time you take to read this note, people can truly make a difference when they want to!

I know most people would want to help someone if they could, it’s who we are. I am committed to helping and I want you to hear about what I’m doing. K9 Officers (dogs) are vitally important in today’s police work. Look at some of these facts:

• K9 officers (dogs) have been used in law enforcement for centuries! They can perform a wide range of duties and services that even their human counterparts can’t accomplish.
• A Police K9 office has an average career of 6 to 8 years.
• A K9 can differentiate between identical twins.
• A dog team can search an area 50 times faster than a human and can smell up to 500,000 times better with a much-enhanced degree of certainty. A dog could smell a teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water.
• A Police Dog Can Smell A Human Buried Up To 12 Feet Underground
• K9 Officers Keep Billions of Dollars of Drugs Off Our Streets. On June 25, 2014, IOL News reported that one of the biggest drug busts of all time was performed by a K9 Unit.
• K9 Dog Training Takes Approximately 10 Weeks
• K9 Officers Perform Tracking, Narcotic Detection, Explosives Detection, Cadaver Detection, And Public Enforcement
• Recently, K9s Have Been Trained to Sniff Out Electronics Like Hard Drives, Thumb Drives, And Other Pieces of Technology to Find Illegal Data
• Each Police Dog Costs Approximately $20,000 to Obtain and Train. This does not include security vests. (Bullet proof vests). These can cost as much as $8,000. per K9 officer.
• These dogs are a very valuable asset to any and all police departments. Some departments have a very robust program, and some are trying to get their program up and running.
• Funding for police departments is not enough for all the needs and for what we, the public, ask police departments to do for us.

So, what does this have to do with you? Help with these dogs is needed.  Please read this article: https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/12/31/antioch-famed-police-k9-thor-passes-away/

During my training through a condensed police academy, I became aware of how much these K9 officers help a police department to protect and serve us, the public. Increasing the amount of working K9 officers WILL make a difference.

I have committed to purchase and train a new K9 and I’m asking you to join me in making this happen. Yes, donations are needed. Large or small, all will help. YOU can, save a life. YOU can find a missing child. YOU can, arrest a dangerous criminal.

You want to help? Great! By following this link https://www.gofundme.com/k9-purchase-antioch-police-dept by donating, you can make a difference! I appreciate all of you for being willing to partner with me in this very important fundraising need. My goal is to raise $28,000. and all money received from the GoFundMe Page will be donated. PLEASE DONATE.

Tim McCall

Antioch

The car in which the driver who died and passenger were traveling, which struck the car in front at the intersection of Hillcrest Avenue, Davison Drive and Deer Valley Road, Friday, Feb. 16, 2017. Photos by Allen Payton

By Acting Lieutenant Rick Martin #3343, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

Antioch Police on the scene of the accident, preparing to remove the driver’s body from the scene.

On Friday, February 16, 2018 at approximately 9:30 am Antioch Police Officers responded to the intersection of Hillcrest Avenue and Davison Drive on a report of a vehicle collision. Upon arrival, one of the drivers involved appeared to have a medical emergency. ConFire and paramedics arrived a short time later and conducted life saving measures. The 49-year-old male from Berkeley was later pronounced deceased at the scene. Drugs or alcohol do not appear to be a factor in this case.

According to Antioch Police on the scene, the driver of the silver Mercedes (pictured), is believed to have died prior to the accident. A worker with Fernandez Towing on the scene said, “A passenger in the car said he felt bad and fell over and had a heart attack.”

The passenger said the driver “stayed up the street in Antioch,” and that he “all of a sudden slumped over, his eyes rolled back. I tried to put my foot over and tried to hit the break, but it was too late. He accelerated, and we hit the car in front of us. Then I seen him move so I thought he was OK. A lady from the other car – who had a baby in there – came over. I told her my friend is sick. But he was gone.”

All three vehicles had to be towed from the scene.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call the Antioch Police at (925) 778-2441 or Traffic Officer Robert Solari at 925-779-6900 ext.82372. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

Allen Payton contributed to this report.