APOA announces it, claims mayor, City ‘s PIO muzzling Chief Ford, APD’s PIO; takes more swipes at Thorpe

Claims patrol staff down to 30 officers

“There is NO reason whatsoever to hold onto this information, unless it is the mayor and him wanting to do more press conferences in an attempt to take credit for the good work our officers are doing.” – Councilwoman Ogorchock

By Allen D. Payton

A rash of burglaries in Antioch, this week has led to the arrest of at two suspect.s But the Antioch Police Department is not being allowed to announce it, according to the Antioch Police Officers Association (APOA). Instead, they announced it and claim Mayor Lamar Thorpe and City Manager Con Johnson want the announcement to go through the city’s contracted public information officer, Rolando Bonilla, instead of APD’s PIO, Ashley Crandell, so Thorpe can hold a press conference about it.

The suspects arrested are 34-year-old Casey Beck and Alyssa Castro. According to vinelink.com, he is a white male and was booked into county jail on Feb. 16 at 12:00 AM. According to reunion.com Beck is an Antioch resident and was born on August 18, 1988. According to vinelink.com she is 21 years old and was also booked into county jail at 12:00 AM on Friday. According to her Facebook page, Castro lives in Antioch and attended Alhambra High and Vicente Martinez High in Martinez.

APOA Statement

In a statement issued Friday morning, Sgt. Rick Hoffman, president of the APOA wrote:

“People of Antioch,

The APOA felt it was important to address several issues that our officers have been been dealing with and that you, those who live in Antioch, have likely felt the ramifications of. The issue is twofold and has been affecting our department for some time. These issues are staffing and messaging from our department.

The APD has been hemorrhaging officers for the better part of the last 12 months. Through injuries, attrition, the FBI investigation into a group of our officers, and a host of other issues, the APD’s patrol staff is currently staffed at 30 patrol officers. For perspective, the APD’s patrol staff had 65 officers available to work patrol in late 2020.

The reason we are addressing this now is because of the constant misrepresentations we see about our staffing levels and recruitment efforts being put forth by Mayor Thorpe. It cannot be said with enough emphasis that one of the major driving forces causing officers to leave our agency is the dangerous and irresponsible rhetoric coming from the Mayor. The Mayor’s constant negative comments towards our officers since the time of Chief Brooks has caused a large amount of officers to leave our agency because they do not feel the support from our city’s leadership. Just as important, his behavior and rhetoric has also prevented current officers from other agencies from coming to work for our agency. Anecdotally, we have been told by lateral prospects all over the Bay Area that despite the signing bonus that the Mayor has offered, they will not work in Antioch because of the Mayor’s rhetoric against the police department. We have all heard the Mayor blame our staffing crisis on a national trend of an exodus from policing. Although it is true that staffing levels at police departments around the country are down, it is also true that APD’s staffing has hit critically low levels unseen by other departments in the area. Our neighboring agencies do not have the staffing crisis that we have and the APOA attributes much of that to the Mayor’s ongoing rhetoric.

Now, the APD’s recruiting team has been doing an excellent job hiring a good amount of new applicants and they are being put through the police academy as we speak. We know that help to our staffing levels are soon on the horizon and we are confident that the APD’s staffing levels will be back to where they were before. Chief Ford has also been implementing several positive changes and improvements to our training and procedures that will continue to improve our department over the long term. But to be clear, these positive improvements are happening despite the Mayor’s negative comments about our officers and not because of any efforts or programs he has been responsible for. No signing bonus can make up for the damage he’s done to our department but the officers represented by the APOA are resilient and will overcome yet this latest obstacle to accomplishing the mission of keeping the Antioch community safe.

To speak to the issues of keeping the community safe, most of you have likely heard about the burglaries which occurred recently at Antioch businesses and the subsequent apology which was released by APD administration regarding APD’s response. You were told in that apology that there would be positive updates to be released. Those positive updates to this point have not been released and the APOA has been informed that they will not be released because the Mayor has ordered APD’s leadership not to to release any further information regarding this incident. So we, as an APOA, will tell you that the person responsible has been arrested by alert and hard working APD patrol officers. Officers who responded to the original burglary were able to identify the responsible vehicle the night of the burglary and located the vehicle on February 16. They identified the driver as 34 year old Casey Beck and determined that he was responsible for multiple burglaries in the recent past. Beck was arrested and booked at the Martinez Detention Facility.

This update was prevented from reaching you because the Mayor ordered APD leadership from releasing it. We have been informed that this message has reached our department leadership through Chief Strategic Officer Rolando Bonilla. We have been told that Mr. Bonilla ordered the department’s Public Information Officer, Ashley Crandell, from releasing any further information regarding this incident. This is an ongoing pattern that our department has experienced for years. Mayor Thorpe prevented Chief Brooks, interim Chief Morefield and now Chief Ford from updating the public with incidents occurring in the city. The APOA believes he has done this because he does not want our officers to be highlighted positively but rather wants an opportunity to craft the message himself to take the credit for the work our officers do. The APOA will not stand idly by and allow this to happen. We believe that it is important for the citizens of Antioch to know what is occurring with the city. The APOA does not answer to Mayor Thorpe and he will not silence our message. It seems the Mayor routinely forgets that Antioch is a General Law city which means we are governed by a city council of five and we have a “city manager” form of government. Despite this, the Mayor routinely tries to operate as though we are a Charter city with a “strong mayor” form of government. His actions are inappropriate on many levels.

We can assure the people of Antioch that our officers will continue to work diligently to keep you safe and the message of their work will reach you so that you are aware of what is occurring in the city.”

Questions for Thorpe, Johnson, Bonilla, Councilmembers

The following questions were sent to Thorpe, City Manager Con Johnson, Bonilla, Chief Ford, Crandell and the APOA, and copied to the other four city council members, City Attorney Thomas L. Smith and Assistant City Manager Rosanna Bayon Moore Friday morning. They were given until noon, Friday to respond for their answers and comments to be included in this report.

Is the information provided by the APOA correct? Most importantly, are there currently only 30 patrol officers on the force?

Did Rolanod order Ashley to not release information to the media about the arrest of the suspect in the various burglaries in Antioch? If so, what authority does he have to tell any staff member of any city department what to do? Or did the order come from you, Con? And was it made to Chief Ford to give to Officer Crandell?

If so, Con did Lamar direct you to do that? If so, why are you taking direction from just one of the five council members when your job is to do what a council majority directs you to do?

Lamar, did you give that direction to both Con and Rolando so you can hold a press conference about the arrest? If so, do you recognize that you don’t have the authority to direct the city manager, city PIO, city attorney or any city staff member what to do and it takes the vote of three council members to direct the city manager or city attorney – and only them since they are the only two city staff members who are hired by and answer to the council?

Council members, do you agree that Con and Thomas are only to act upon the direction of a majority vote by the council and they are not to take direction from just the mayor or any other one or two council members?

When will the city’s PIO fulfill the role for which he is contracted and provide information to the public and not suppress, or control it and prevent all media that covers Antioch from being included in city press releases or city-related press conference announcements?

Did a majority of council members ever vote to direct the city’s PIO or the city manager to direct him to exclude certain media from press releases and press conference announcements? (As an FYI, the last time the Herald received a press release or press conference announcement from Bonilla was on Feb. 14, 2022).

Do any of you have any other comments about this matter?”

Only Two Councilmembers Respond

“100% agree,” District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica responded to the question about the city manager and city attorney only acting upon direction of a majority vote of council members.

Asked if that had ever come up for a vote he responded. “No. I would never vote for that and I don’t recall that ever coming up. Nor would I ever exclude media especially media that are critical of the mayor. If that’s the motive, then that’s wrong. It’s contrary to our system.”

“The press should have access because the press reporting is what keeps government honest,” Barbanica added. “You can’t pick and choose based on who’s going to be friendly to you.”

“I’m very disappointed to learn last night and this morning that the Antioch Police Department is being silenced as to what information they can release to the public. Specifically, and most recently, the arrest of the suspect in this week’s restaurant burglaries.”

Barbanica also posted comments and a video on his official Facebook page sharing additional concerns about the matter and thanking Chief Ford and APD for hosting last night’s Community Forum. The District 2 councilman wrote, “30 OFFICERS WORKING PATROL! (That is NOT at a time…this is TOTAL…divide that by a 24/7 operation and a city of 115,000)

Thank you Chief Ford and the recruiting team for doing everything you can to hire more officers.

Most of all, thank you to the men and women of APD for continuing to work through these difficult times and serve the members of this community.

APD apparently again ordered to withhold press information.”

Ogorchock responded to the questions, as well. In response to the first question about the validity of what the APOA shared she wrote, “If this came from the APOA, they would know and I therefore believe it is true.”

Regarding only 30 patrol officers on the force Ogorchorck responded, “Those are the numbers I have also been given.”

Regarding Bonilla ordering Crandell to not release information to the media about the arrest of the suspect, the District 3 councilwoman wrote, “I understood it was the CM Johnson that had reached out to the Chief and told him he was not to release the suspects information. But I have heard that Rolando has directed the PIO Crandell from APD that she needs to go through him.”

Rolando has NO authority whatsoever to direct staff, period!” she added.

In response to the questions to Johnson if Thorpe directed you to do tell APD not to release the information about the suspect and if so, why is he taking direction from just one of the five council members Ogorchock wrote, “Good question, we are NOT a charter city and we do not have a stand-alone mayor.  All direction needs to be given by the body of the council.”

On the question if she agrees that Johnson and Smith are only to act upon the direction of a majority vote by the council and they are not to take direction from just the mayor or any other one or two council members, she wrote, “We as council have two employees, the CM & CA, they are to only take direction from the majority of council.”

Regarding the PIO fulfilling his role to provide information to the public Ogorchock responded, “We should not be suppressing any media outlets, all should be treated fairly and equally no matter to how one feels about the media and how they share the information.”

About the council voting to direct the city’s PIO or the city manager to direct him to exclude certain media from press releases and press conference announcements, she wrote, “Never on my part. As a matter of fact, I believe in what I wrote above, all should be given the same opportunities. It is not up to the PIO Bonilla to pick and choose which outlets to notify of the goings on in the city.  He should be including all!”

Ogorchock also shared the following comments. 

“In this city we have the most dedicated men and women on our police force, they take pride in this city in which they work and some live,” she wrote. “Their quality of life is suffering due to the lack of officers we currently have as they are being asked to take on extra responsibilities, work several extra hours per shift/week to make sure our residents are safe. Our response times are being impacted by such low numbers of officers, as evident in the recent burglaries, where other priority calls were responded to sooner.

“It is my understanding that City Manager Johnson reached out to Chief Ford and instructed him to NOT release the information regarding the suspects being arrested for the many burglaries that took place,” Ogorchock continued. “APD has a public information officer and her name is Officer Crandell. She through Chief Ford should be releasing information as it becomes available as quickly as possible for transparency.  That is what this legislative body has instructed on multiple occasions with previous Chief Brooks, Interim Chief Morefield and now with Chief Ford. There is NO reason whatsoever to hold onto this information, unless it is the mayor and him wanting to do more press conferences in an attempt to take credit for the good work our officers are doing.”

No other council or staff members responded to the questions prior to publication time.

“…our response to the…burglary incidents fell short of our goals, and I want to be very clear about that.” Lt. Michael Mellone

By Allen D. Payton

In response to multiple business burglaries in Antioch, this week the Antioch Police Department issued a statement on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023 apologizing for the slow response times.

A list and videos of various restaurants that were broken into was published on Facebook and by another media source, including Hillcrest Taphouse, Cocina Medina, Muscle Maker Grill and Tailgaters Sports Bar & Grill. A Thursday, February 15 post on the Hillcrest Tap Facebook page shows photos of the damage and reads, “So somebody broke into the restaurant this morning, alarm company called me when they shattered the front door before they even got into the restaurant we called the police they spent 10 minutes going through the restaurant loading up backpack trying to get into everything. Police never showed up. I’ve been in the restaurant for close to 1 and half hours and the police still haven’t showed up. They said they have no officers available for non-emergency. So basically they’re saying it’s a free ride to break in to any restaurant or business because people know that there’s no repercussions for it because the police aren’t going to show up.”

A video posted on the Cocina Medina Facebook page, yesterday shows the damage and included the brief comment, “What’s the point?”

According to a report on ContraCostaNews.com it took police four hours to respond to the burglary at Cocina Medina.

Following is the APD’s statement:

“February 16, 2023

To the Antioch Community:

We are aware of recent concerns about our police response to in-progress property crimes (such as burglaries). I wanted to take a few moments to offer a few words – and apologize. Specifically, our response to the Hillcrest Restaurant & Taphouse and Cocina Medina burglary incidents fell short of our goals, and I want to be very clear about that.

When our Dispatch Center receives an emergency call, they often get triaged based on our available officer resources, and whether the incident is a threat to life, property, or both. In this instance, all of our officers were committed to high priority calls, and we did not respond in a timely manner to these burglary incidents. We have looked into both incidents, found areas where we could’ve done better, and are taking immediate steps to address it.

If I could ask our community, please do not fault our hard-working officers or dispatchers for this lack of performance. I can tell you – without question – that our officers and dispatchers take great pride in serving and protecting Antioch, especially since many of them are from here. In the majority of incidents, we would normally respond quickly to an in-progress burglary, but for these particular incidents we did not, and I apologize to these individual business owners, and our community.

We know that folks in Antioch do not like to hear excuses – especially from their Police Department. I can tell you we are taking immediate steps to improve our staffing levels through robust recruiting efforts. We are sending four police recruits to an academy in the next few days. Three out of four are from Antioch (the other from East County), and all represent a cross section of the community we serve. We also have 10 police applicants in our hiring process currently – and if they meet our high-standards – will be additional help for improving our staffing levels.

These recruiting efforts include concerted attempts to attract women and individuals from the wonderfully diverse community we serve. Soon, we will be announcing a nationwide campaign we have joined to improve our efforts to increase the numbers of women and diverse individuals into our Police Department. We look forward to telling you more about this very soon. My shameless plug is – if you know someone you think would make a great Antioch Police Officer, please ask them to visit our website JoinAntiochPd.com, or give me a call.

We greatly appreciate the support we receive from everyone, but also appreciate (truly) when you hold us accountable when we fall short. Hopefully you’ve noticed our attempts to double-down on our transparency efforts. This is not just in-line with best practice policing reform efforts, but is our obligation to keep you informed about what’s going on, and also level with you when we fall short.

I am pleased to announce that we will have some positive news about these specific burglary incidents very soon – stay tuned. If anyone would like to talk to me about their concerns on this or any other matter where you expected better (or thought we did a good job), I can be reached at (925) 779-6938, or email: mmellone@antiochca.gov.

Thank you, Antioch.

Michael Mellone

Lieutenant of Police

Professional Standards Unit

By Public Information Officer Ashley Crandell, Antioch Police Community Engagement Unit

As previously reported, on January 17, 2023, at approximately 10:45 am, the Antioch Police Department Dispatch Center received multiple calls regarding a shooting at The Spot Liquor Store (formerly Quik Stop) located at 1108 Sycamore Drive in the Sycamore Square shopping center. The callers advised there was someone shot at the location. Officers immediately responded and located a male in the parking lot, suffering from a gunshot wound. The 25-year-old Pittsburg resident, identified as Emani Flenoid, was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

Corey Hill, a 19-year-old male out of Antioch, was identified as a suspect in this case by detectives from our Investigations Bureau. He was arrested on an unrelated matter in Orinda and found to be wanted for our homicide.

According to localcrimenews.com, Hill was arrested by the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department on February 9 for 182(A)(1) – Conspiracy To Commit A Crime, 496(A) – Receiving Or Concealing Stolen Property, 10851(A) – Taking vehicle without Owner’s Consent, 2800.2 – Evading Police Officer: Wanton Disregard For Safety, and 2800.4 – Evasion Of Peace Officer – Wrong Side of Median. The website also reports, on February 8 he was arrested by the Antioch Police Department for murder.

On Wednesday, February 15, 2023, Detective Cox presented this case to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, and Hill was charged with murder and enhancements for using a firearm. He is being held at the Martinez Detention Facility pending arraignment and his bail was set at two million dollars.

Antioch PD detectives wish to thank the Orinda and Lafayette Police Departments, California Highway Patrol, and Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office for their assistance with the arrest of Hill. We

would also like to thank the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office for their partnership in pursuing justice for the victim and his family.

If anyone has further information on this case, please contact Detective Cox at (925) 481-8147 or email: jcox@antiochca.gov. You may also text an anonymous tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword ANTIOCH.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

During the Antioch City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 meeting, it was announced that application deadline for appointments to the seven vacancies on the City’s new Police Oversight Commission has been extended until this Friday, Feb. 17.

Formation of the new commission was approved by the council in May 2022.

CURRENT VACANCIES:

• (2) 1-year terms, expiring November 30, 2023
• (2) 2-year terms, expiring November 30, 2024
• (3) 3-year terms, expiring November 30, 2025

MEETINGS:

• Twice a month, except in July and December, when meetings occur only once.

SEATS:

• 4 representatives, 1 from each District
• 1 representative from Faith-based community
• 1 representative from Business community
• 1 employee or student from Antioch Unified School District

REQUIREMENTS:

• All members must reside in the City of Antioch
• Not a spouse of, or a current/former City employee / department-sworn employee / sworn police officer / sworn police officer association representative

To be considered for the vacancy position(s) listed above, please fill out and sign the “Community Service Application” form, available at City Hall or online at https://www.antiochca.gov/government/boards-commissions/.

Then, e-mail it to cityclerk@antiochca.gov, or print and mail/drop off in the water billing drop-off box outside City Hall at: City Clerk, 200 H Street, Antioch, CA 94509

 

By Public Information Officer Ashley Crandell, Antioch Police Department Community Engagement Unit

On February 9, 2023, at approximately 12:45 am, the Antioch Police Department Communications Center received a call indicating there was an individual down in the roadway at the intersection of Deer Valley Road and Rocky Point Drive. Officers immediately responded and located a male in the roadway with severe injuries. He was transported by air ambulance to a local trauma center where he is in very critical condition.

Officers believe the victim was struck by an unknown vehicle which fled the scene immediately afterward. Members of our Traffic Unit are currently investigating the incident and are asking anyone who resides in the immediate vicinity of Deer Valley Road and Rocky Point Drive to check their surveillance cameras between 12:30 am and 12:50 am on February 9, 2023.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or has information pertaining to the incident is asked to contact Officer Hamilton at (925) 778-2441 or via email at jhamilton@antiochca.gov.

Individuals with information can also text an anonymous tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH. All text tips are confidential and cannot be traced back to the sender unless the individual chooses to provide their information.

By Public Information Officer Ashley Crandell, Antioch Police Department Community Engagement Unit

On Wednesday, February 8, 2023, at 2:56 pm, the Antioch Police Department Communications Center received a call reporting shots fired at a residence in the 2300 block of “L” Street. Shortly after, a second call was received from an individual reporting they had been on the phone with a male at the residence when a gunshot was heard in the background. The caller believed the male had committed suicide.

Officers arrived and contacted bail bonds agents who indicated they had gone to the residence to take a 30-year-old male into custody for multiple outstanding felony warrants. As they approached the front door, they heard one gunshot from inside the residence. Officers received no response at the residence and forced entry to find a deceased male with a gunshot wound to the head. The male was found still holding a handgun. No other occupants were found inside the residence.

Officers continue to investigate the incident and ask any potential witnesses to contact our Dispatch Center at (925) 778-2441. We are not naming the victim at this time pending further notification of family members.

Began and ended in Antioch

Earlier today, Saturday, February 4, 2023, the Pleasanton Police Department reported, “On Monday, we received a report of a robbery in a Pleasanton neighborhood. Two individuals wearing ski masks got out of a black sedan and approached the victim while pointing a gun and demanding money. The victim complied and surrendered more than $1,000, laptops, and other valuables.

Teaming up, our patrol officers and detectives quickly gathered evidence, such as surveillance video showing the suspects following the victim into Pleasanton after making a cash withdrawal from a bank in Antioch. An alert was sent to local agencies to keep an eye out for the car, and within hours, we were notified it was found back in Antioch. Thanks to Antioch Police Department, the suspects were detained on the spot.

After they were positively ID’d by the victim, the suspects were arrested and taken to Santa Rita Jail.”

In a Facebook post this afternoon, the Antioch Police Department responded by writing, “Always happy to help! Thanks Pleasanton Police Department for recognizing our officers.”