By Antioch Police Department

115. It’s a magical number around here. 115 is the number of sworn police officers authorized in the City of Antioch (counting the Chief on down). Did you know our Police Department hasn’t been fully staffed with officers since 2004? Getting hired as a police officer is a long, difficult process. Since Antioch only hires the best of the best, it can be even more difficult here. So, without further ado, please welcome Lieutenant Joseph Vigil, who joins our ranks at that magical number.

Lt. Vigil, who was given his oath of office on Monday, May 18, comes to us from Richmond PD where he was a sergeant. It is truly a team effort that got us to where we are. We have to take a moment to say thank you, first and foremost, to our community for all of the support you give us, but also to our City leaders for their vision and leadership.

Thanks to the passage of Measure C in 2013, Antioch’s half-cent sales tax for more police, then the passage of Measure W in 2018, the city’s one-cent sales tax which replaced Measure C, the city has been able to afford to hire the additional officers and other city staff.

As reported previously, “We already have two more that started the academy…and three additional laterals in our hiring process,” said Antioch Police Chief Tammany Brooks. “I’m expecting a couple of medical retirements, shortly. But this should keep us at or near fully staffed, even when they leave.”

#teamworkmakesthedreamwork #community #115 #antiochstrong

Allen Payton contributed to this report.

“It’s encouraging. We’re wanting it to continue going down. It certainly isn’t going up.” – County Health Officer, Dr. Chris Farnitano regarding COVID-19 statistics curve in Contra Costa.

By Allen Payton

Due to the positive results over the past few weeks with the COVID-19 statistics in Contra Costa County, Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano issued a new order, yesterday, Monday, May 18, 2020 that went into effect, today allowing certain retail and other businesses to reopen, within certain guidelines.

But, concerns from the representative of a major retail property management company in the county, asking how it’s supposed to work raised questions.

Asked if he or his staff spoke with retail store owners or shopping center property managers about the order before issuing it and how it’s supposed to work, Dr. Farnitano replied, “We’ve been getting feedback from different stores and businesses. We haven’t specifically asked them to review this particular language. This comes from state guidelines. So, our guidelines are in line with the state’s Phase 2. They allowed it on the 8th of May, 11 days ago.”

“It may be more helpful for small retail stores that don’t have an online presence, not a larger store that does,” he added. “Like craft breweries that weren’t allowed prior, or other products that folks that people were used to going to the retail store for.”

“The other big changes are the associated manufacturing and logistics, which pretty much covers any manufacturing that wasn’t already allowed, like refineries, or agricultural product manufacturing,” Farnitano continued. “The Tesla plant in Alameda County is one example.”

“We might be going in a slightly slower pace than the state,” he shared. “But there’s less variability from one county to the next for the particular rules for a business to reopen.”

When asked if the shelter-in-place order still ends on May 31st, Dr. Farnitano answered, “the new order that was issued yesterday and went into effect, today doesn’t have an end date. That’s really not practical or the intent, which was to reevaluate the situation before that date.” (See related article)

“What we’re really doing is to make a change, give it some time to see the affects of that change, and see the impact on our matrix,” he continued. “We did that the last time two weeks ago on May 4 and because of the positive results from that we’re able to open up more.”

So, the reopening will be through a gradual, step by step process “driven by the data,” Dr. Farnitano added.

“It’s been pretty flat,” he said about the curve. “We’ve been looking at seven-day averages. We’ve been running at 10 to 15 new cases a day for the past two weeks, and 15 to 20 in the hospital, each day”

“It’s encouraging. We’re wanting it to continue going down. It certainly isn’t going up,” Dr. Farnitano stated.

Asked when will the next order for more reopening be issued,” We don’t really have a time or particular day,” he said. “We give it a couple weeks which is the incubation period for someone to be exposed and then experience symptoms.” Then they reevaluate the situation at that time.

So, we can expect another update and hopefully more reopening of businesses and activities the first week of June.

By Antioch Police Department

In our latest edition of #ShenaniganSaturday

At about 1:45 pm, an alert APD officer was on patrol in the area of 18th and A Streets, when he spotted a vehicle reported stolen the previous day. When Team Blue (that’s us!) attempted to halt the vehicle, the driver hit a cop car and led officers on a pursuit to the area of L and 18th Streets. It was there, the driver struck a curb and his rampage was finally brought to a stop by Canine Officer Smith and his loyal companion Kona (pictured above in all her regalness). Said driver was brought to the County Jail, where he was booked for multiple felonies, including aggravated assault on a police officer, auto theft, and evading.

We receive ongoing training in vehicular pursuits, with YOUR safety always at the top of our concerns. Thankfully, no officers or innocent bystanders were hurt from this incident. We hope you can tell from our posts that APD is serious about protecting OUR city! We take a lot of pride in proactive patrolling because of the overwhelming support we receive from all of you. Trust me when I say it makes a huge difference to our officers, and we won’t ever stop when it comes to PROTECTING OUR CITY!

(FYI: We know you’re probably wondering, but thankfully aggravated felony assault doesn’t qualify for a zero-bail immediate release from jail).

#AntiochPD #AntiochPDK9 #CanineKona #APDDayShift #AntiochStrong

By Antioch Police Department

While you were sleeping…

At about 3:18 am Saturday, May 16, 2020, an officer on patrol near Hillcrest Avenue and Larkspur Drive spotted a U-Haul which had been reported stolen to the Walnut Creek Police Department. The vehicle was stopped and the driver was found to have a felony warrant for (you guessed it) auto theft out of San Mateo County. Said driver received a complimentary set of chrome bracelets and was brought to the County Jail for a new charge of auto theft, possession of burglary tools, and the outstanding warrant.

As we mentioned before, auto theft suspects use these vehicles to commit other crimes in our city. We have noticed a trend of stolen rental trucks being used in commercial burglaries during the early morning hours. Luckily, we intercepted this crook just in-time, because there was no stolen loot in the truck.

We are always on the lookout but, ask you to be also. It’s not normal to be moving things at 3 am in a rental truck, so be our extra set of eyes, and give us a call if you spot anything. Our dispatch number is (925) 778-2441, or 9-1-1 if you think it’s an emergency.

Remember, APD Night Shift doesn’t sleep until the sun comes up, so don’t be afraid to call us! Thanks for helping us keep Antioch safe!!!

#AntiochPD #AntiochStrong #APDNightShift #CVC10851

See the list of businesses authorized to reopen, here.

By Kwame Reed, Economic Development Director, City of Antioch

If your business is authorized to reopen based on today’s revision of the Contra Costa County Shelter-in-Place order and Appendix C, you may find the State of California’s statewide industry guidance to reduce risk helpful as you seek to reopen safely (see industry links below).

View the Facebook Live briefing from Contra Costa County Health Officer Dr. Chris Farnitano regarding the latest update on Phase 2 and curbside pickups HERE

If your business was not yet authorized to reopen, these documents can still serve as guidance on what to expect when your business is authorized to reopen and will enable you to better prepare in advance:

Automobile Dealerships and Rentals

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-auto-dealerships.pdf

Child Care Licensees and Providers

https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/CCLD/PINs/2020/CCP/PIN_20-06-CCP.pdf

Construction

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-construction.pdf

Delivery Services

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-delivery-services.pdf

Dine-In Restaurants

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-dine-in-restaurants.pdf

Hotels and Lodging

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-hotels.pdf

Life Sciences

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-life-sciences.pdf

Limited Services (including, but not limited to, laundromats, auto repair, landscaping, pet services, in-home maintenance and repair services, general contractors)

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-life-sciences.pdf

Logistics and Warehousing Facilities

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-logistics-warehousing.pdf

Manufacturing

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-manufacturing.pdf

Office Workspaces

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-office-workspaces.pdf

Real Estate Transactions

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-real-estate.pdf

Retail

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-retail.pdf

Shopping Malls, Destination Shopping Centers, Strip and Outlet Malls, and Swap Meets

https://covid19.ca.gov/pdf/guidance-shopping-centers.pdf

In addition to the above information, the City of Antioch has resumed full-service business inspection services with limited hours.  Information can be found here https://www.antiochca.gov/community-development-department/building-division/.

Please continue to do your part in keeping yourself, your staff, and your customers safe.

By Antioch Police Department

APD Swing and Night Shift officers have two detained at Auto Center Drive and Sycamore Drive who were spotted driving a vehicle stolen from Pleasant Hill on Highway 4 into our city. People who drive stolen cars rarely do it to joyride – they usually come into town to commit other crimes, and we just can’t allow that. The driver in this instance will receive complimentary shuttle service to the County Jail in Martinez.

Here’s the law folks:

California Vehicle Code § 10851. Theft and Unlawful Taking or Driving of a Vehicle

(a) Any person who drives or takes a vehicle not his or her own, without the consent of the owner thereof, and with intent either to permanently or temporarily deprive the owner thereof of his or her title to or possession of the vehicle, whether with or without intent to steal the vehicle, or any person who is a party or an accessory to or an accomplice in the driving or unauthorized taking or stealing, is guilty of a public offense and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code or by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment. #AntiochPD   #APDSwingShift #APDNightShift #AntiochStrong #CVC10851

By Antioch Police Department

Here’s another #ForgetfulFelon…

This morning, at around 7:00 am, an APD Day Shift officer was on patrol in the area of East 6th Street. He saw a car stopped facing the wrong way and decided to have a chat with the driver. Said driver had a hard time remembering how to spell his own name (which threw up some red flags) so he was asked to step out of the car. Upon doing so, a bundle of heroin fell from his lap onto the ground (we can’t make this stuff up). Immediately after, he was fitted with a pair of bracelets, which we are known for providing in these instances.

A search of the vehicle revealed a loaded semi-automatic pistol with a 30-round extended magazine. The serial number to the firearm was badly scratched-off, which is commonly found on stolen guns in an effort to make them untraceable. Upon learning his true name, our forgetful felon was determined to have a felony warrant for burglary and evading a police officer. We had no hard feelings over the situation and gave our forgetful felon a free ride to the County Jail, where he was booked on eight separate felony charges, probation violation, and his outstanding warrant.

APD is committed to reducing violent crime in our neighborhoods, and one of the biggest ways we do this is by conducting proactive stops. In this case, a simple traffic violation led to the seizure of an illegally possessed firearm and the arrest of a wanted felon. Team Blue was able to take another gun off the street before it could be used to harm anyone, and I’d say that’s all in a good day’s work.

So far this year, we have seen a 5.9% reduction in violent crime and a 4% reduction in property crime. What do you think fans of APD? Are you glad proactive policing is back? Let us know in the comments section!

(take a look at the last picture and find the gun hidden along the driver’s seat) #AntiochPD #APDDayShift #AntiochStrong #ProactivePolicing

 

Memorial Day Weekend Opening cancelled

Due to the COVID-19 public health crisis the City of Antioch, Recreation Department, is postponing all activity at the Antioch Water Park. The traditional opening weekend over the Memorial Day Holiday, May 23-25, 2020 is canceled. Current shelter-in-place rules prevent public gathering at this time for the safety of all residents and staff. The Water Park will open when it is safe to bring the community together.

May is National Water Safety Month so all families are encouraged to talk about water safety with their children. Drowning is the second leading cause of death among children ages 1-4 and more than 70% of childhood drowning incidents take place at home. The Water Park has an excellent safety video to share with families – www.antiochca.gov/water-park.

All Water Park operations will follow the directions provided by Contra Costa County Health Department including swimming lessons and water safety instruction, swimming exercise and general water park admission. When the final guidelines are released the Recreation Department will announce an opening date. Residents are encouraged to stay connected with the City of Antioch by following the daily announcements posted on the website www.antiochca.gov. For more information about the Antioch Water Park summer season, season passes, swimming lessons, and general summer recreation programs please call the Department at 925-776-3050. Recreation staff is working each day to assist Antioch families.