Free, second presentation Wednesday night, June 14

By John Crowder

On Friday, May 26, three new leaders in the city of Antioch, Police Chief Tammany Brooks, City Manager Ron Bernal, and Mayor Sean Wright, each spoke at the annual State of the City event hosted by the Antioch Chamber of Commerce.  The well-attended event was held at the Antioch Community Center at Prewett Park.

Antioch Chamber CEO Richard Pagano, after welcoming the crowd, introduced Chief Brooks.  Also known as ‘T,’ Brooks focused his talk on three words beginning with T, Technology, Training, and Teamwork.

Brooks began by saying that he knew it was important to reduce the perception of crime, along with actual crime.  “If you don’t feel safe, it doesn’t matter how much we show an actual reduction in crime,” he said.  “Quality of life means that you feel safe as you go about your day-to-day activities.”

With respect to technology, Brooks said that his department would be spending more time analyzing statistics and using the information gleaned to work smarter and more efficiently to reduce crime.  The Department Crime Analyst will be spending more time developing crime intelligence, he explained.  Brooks noted that surveillance cameras were already in use in the city, and that more were on the way.

Training, according to Brooks, is vital to the success of his department.  He said, though, that the type of training required now was different than that emphasized in the past.  “There were 87,000 contacts last year between citizens and the APD,” he said.  “Of these, less than 2% required the use of force.”  While teaching officers how to react in situations requiring the use of force would always be important, more training will be done in the future around community engagement, according to Brooks.

“Part of our training must include cultural diversity, implicit bias, and crisis management,” he said.

Brooks emphasized teamwork both within the department, and in the greater community.  He said that the APD had the lowest per capita staff of a major city in Contra Costa County.  Even so, “I’m not going to cry about that and tell you what we can’t do,” he said, “I’m going to tell you what we can do.”

Brooks said that educating the public on steps they can take to avoid being victims of crime, and ensuring that his officers are engaged, on a more personal level, with members of the community would both pay significant dividends in reducing crime.  Brooks concluded his remarks by saying, “The men and women of the Antioch Police Department truly care about this community, and over the next few years, you’re going to see that.”

City Manager Ron Bernal began his remarks by saying, “In my opinion, our job is to serve the people of Antioch, and not the other way around.”  He went on to say, “There is an expectation for communication and cooperation.  People don’t care what you say until they know that you care.”

Bernal then listed eight priorities that the City Council had established.  These included, crime reduction, code enforcement, economic development, financial stability, infrastructure, communication, partnerships & collaboration, and quality of life.

Before addressing each of the priorities in turn, Bernal noted that Antioch is the second largest city in Contra Costa County.  He then talked about some positive aspects of the city, including the $1 billion spent on Highway 4 and BART improvements, and pre-1914 water rights.

Bernal stated that the APD currently has a budget for 102 sworn officers and 7 Community Service Officers (CSO’s), up from 82 sworn officers when Measure C was passed.  He expected the number of sworn positions to rise to 103 in 2018, and to 104 in 2019, with CSO’s rising to eight in 2018.

Addressing homelessness is vital to the city, Bernal said.  To that end, the APD developed a Community Engagement Team in January.  In addition, he said that the city had established a two-person abatement team to deal with blight, and that a County CARE center was coming to Antioch later this year.  “We’re doing a lot of things to try and tackle the issue of homelessness in a compassionate way,” he said.

Several other initiatives were mentioned in Bernal’s talk, including the See Click Fix app, more involvement with social media, the consideration of a public relations firm to promote the positive things happening in Antioch, the San Joaquin Joint Powers Project, Business partnerships, and the improvements being made to Waldie Plaza.

Bernal concluded his remarks by saying, “The City is here to cooperate with businesses.  It’s a new day.  We are the government, and we are here to help you.”

Mayor Sean Wright began his remarks by saying, “I’m excited.  The team we have in place now is awesome.”  Referring to City Manager Bernal, Wright said, “Ron really cares and wants to do what is best for our community.”

Wright then immediately moved to address what he called, “the elephant in the room.”  “The question is, are we filing bankruptcy?” he asked.  “We have very little debt, and reserves of $25 million.  You don’t file bankruptcy under those circumstances.”

“There is an impending problem, though,” he continued.  “That is PERS (California’s Public Employees’ Retirement System).  What is PERS?  An oncoming avalanche of impending debt.”

Wright then explained that, for years, PERS had overestimated the amount of income the system would receive on its investments.  Because of this, government agencies around the state who are part of the system, are now being informed that their contributions over the years have been insufficient to fund future retiree benefits that have been promised.

“Is Antioch in trouble when it comes to PERS?  Yes, but we’re not the only city [in trouble.]  In six to seven years, we are in a bad place.  Cities are suing, and we’re watching the progress of these lawsuits.  People are worried, and they’re right to be worried.  But, a lot can happen in six years.”

Wright next explained how he liked to look at Antioch as ‘four corners.’  These are Downtown, BART-Hillcrest, Somersville, and Sand Creek.  “If we can get investment going in these four areas, we can get a driving change start to happen,” he said.

Wright then emphasized the positive attributes of the city.  “We have a phenomenal downtown, it is gorgeous,” he said.  Noting that Internet connectivity was an issue downtown, he said the city was exploring options to create Wi-Fi Hotspots.  “We’re working with City Ventures to develop properties with views of the river for more people.”  “We want a thriving downtown,” he continued.  “Our greatest resource downtown is our river, and it is underutilized,” he said.  Wright also addressed the potential of Humphries restaurant, the work that had already begun on improving Waldie Plaza, and improvements coming to the AMTRAK station.  “We have an opportunity to create a multi-modal transportation hub,” he said.

Wright continued to address each of the other ‘corners.’  He discussed the Business Watch initiative, talked about the substantial investment being considered for the Somersville area, emphasized the need for “balanced development” in the Sand Creek area, and discussed the potential for development around the new BART station at Hillcrest Avenue.

A second State of the City event is scheduled for Wednesday, June 14, at 7:00 pm at the Antioch Community Center.  All are invited to this free event.

By Allen Payton

According to Antioch’s Economic Development Program Manager, Lizeht Zepeda, the negotiations between the City of Antioch and Oakland-based Everett & Jones BBQ for the lease of the former Humphrey’s location have been terminated. However, city staff will continue to pursue other restaurants for the site.

The official statement reads as follows:

“After over a year of good faith negotiations, Antioch’s City Council directed staff to terminate all negotiations with Everett & Jones BBQ regarding the renovation and leasing of the former Humphrey’s restaurant building. The City Council also directed staff to begin remarketing the restaurant site.

Since terminating negotiations with Everett and Jones, the City has seen interest in the restaurant site and has toured the property with two successful Bay Area restaurant owners.  Both restaurant owners are interested in expanding their current operations to this site and are now doing their due diligence on improvement costs associated with their renovation plans.

The site is currently being featured in the Real Estate Section of the San Francisco Chronicle and on the City’s website.”

To see the two-page flyer offering details about the restaurant location, click here.

Humphrey’s on the Delta closed on December 24, 2012. An Antioch businessman bought the building in 2013 but, later let it go.  The City has always owned the land and acquired the building in 2014 on quiet title at no cost. (See related articles, here and here).

By Sergeant John Fortner #3264, Antioch Police Investigations Division

On Thursday, June 8, 2017, at approximately 9:55 AM, Antioch police officers responded to the 4300 block of Palomar Drive for a subject who was accidentally shot with a BB gun. Once at the scene, officers located a15-year-old male victim, who was on the ground with what appeared to be a small wound to his chest. The victim was unresponsive and first-aid/life saving measures were started. The victim was transported to a local area hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his injury.

During the investigation, it was learned that the juvenile victim was shot with a pellet rifle once in the chest, by a juvenile, male friend, also 15-years-old. At this time, based on several witness statements and evidence located at the scene, the incident appears to be a tragic accident. All of the parties at the scene are cooperating with the investigation which is ongoing.

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.

By John Crowder

Contra Costa County District 3 Supervisor Diane Burgis announced, Wednesday that a $5.9 million grant for an innovative arrest-diversion program to be implemented in Antioch has been recommended for approval by the California Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC).  Burgis was notified earlier this week of the recommendation, which came following review of a grant request approved for submission by the Board of Supervisors last February.  If approved by the BSCC Executive Steering Committee at their meeting scheduled for June 8, preparatory steps for program implementation would begin this summer, with services beginning by the end of this year.

CoCo Lead Plus, a partnership between the Antioch Police Department (APD), Contra Costa County Health Services Department, Contra Costa Housing Authority, Contra Costa Health, Housing, & Homeless Services Division, and community-based organizations will be responsible for implementation of the program.  Using the grant, APD will create and implement new arrest-diversion protocols, resulting in coordinated services being made available for people with mental health issues who have been repeatedly arrested for a broad array of low-level, non-violent charges.  In addition to providing help for individuals suffering from mental health issues that result in frequent interaction with the criminal justice system, the program is expected to free up APD resources to focus on more serious crimes.

“People with complex behavioral challenges repeatedly cycle from the streets to the jails and back to the streets,” Burgis stated. “To interrupt this cycle and strengthen the community for all of us, CoCo Lead Plus will combine coordinated diversion protocols with peer-driven outreach and engagement, evidence-based behavioral health services, wraparound social and vocational supports, and opportunities for both transitional and permanent housing for program participants.  Innovative programs such as this provide help for those with mental issues while allowing our police departments to focus resources on the reduction of more serious crime.  This is a win for our entire community.”

Robert Green is named Officer of the Year

By John Crowder

Two Antioch police officers received Medals of Valor on Thursday, May 25, at the annual Antioch Police Department Awards Ceremony.  The awards were given to Officer Tom Smith, who also received a Purple Heart, and Officer Scott Duggar, in recognition for their actions and the bravery they exhibited during a dramatic incident in which Officer Smith was wounded by a shotgun blast to the head.

Antioch Police Chief Tammany Brooks described the incident to a standing room only crowd in the Antioch City Council chambers.  Brooks related how Smith was following a man suspected of numerous offenses, including three other shootings, arson, and carjacking.  In an attempt to evade Officer Smith, the suspect crashed the vehicle he was driving.  Exiting the wrecked car, the suspect immediately began firing at Smith, still in his patrol car.

During the gun battle, Smith was hit in the head, but was still able to keep the suspect engaged and to radio for help.  Officer Duggar arrived on the scene and also engaged the suspect, finally rushing him and placing him under arrest.

Brooks noted the bravery exhibited by the two officers in the performance of their duties, and emphasized how they exemplified the character of Antioch’s sworn staff, who every day step forward to put their lives on the line, if need be, to protect the city’s citizens.

In addition, former Captain Robin Kelley was recognized by Brooks for her years of service as a new retiree.

Also during the ceremony, Brooks surprised Father Robert Rien, Antioch Police Chaplain and pastor of Antioch’s St. Ignatius Church, with an award recognizing his more than ten years of service to the department.  Brooks noted that Rien will soon be recognized as a Master Police Chaplain at the International Conference of Police Chaplains, coming up in July.  Rien will be the only police chaplain in Contra Costa County to have attained this rank.

Other awards presented at the ceremony included:

Officer Robert Green, Officer of the Year

Samantha Peterson, Civilian Employee of the Year

Hannah McDevitt, Explorer of the Year

Officer Matthew Koch, Distinguished Service

Officers Jonathan Adams, Frederick Blumberg, Jacob Ewart, Randall Gragg, Kelly Inabnett, Mark Moraga, and Amel Sahnic, Meritorious Service Awards.

Anita Soares, Commendation

Also recognized were three former Crime Prevention Commissioners, Mike Gadams, Audrey Taylor, and Karen Williams.

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

On Tuesday, June 6, 2017, at approximately 8:13 PM, Antioch police officers responded to the 400 block of W. 19th Street on the report of a male bleeding. Once at the scene, officers located the victim, an adult Hispanic male who had an apparent stab wound to his torso. The victim was transported to a local area hospital where he ultimately succumbed to his injuries. The case is currently under investigation.

This preliminary information is made available by the Investigations Division. 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.

The Coroner’s Division of the Contra Costa County Office of the Sheriff is requesting the pub-lic’s assistance with two cases in Antioch.

By Jimmy Lee, Public Information Officer, Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office

Seeking Next of Kin

On April 28, 2017, David Norman Wise was found deceased at the Amtrak train station in Antioch. Wise, a transient, died of natural causes. The Coroner’s Division has not been able to find any next of kin. Wise was 60 years old, 5’8” tall, and weighed about 200 pounds. He had brown hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information on next of kin or relatives is asked to contact the Coroner’s Division at (925) 313-2850.

John Doe Case

On May 2, 2017, the Coroner’s Division responded to a “train versus pedestrian” incident at the railroad tracks, east of the Amtrak Station, 100 I Street in Antioch. The man appeared to have walked into the path of an oncoming train. The man has not been identified. He is described as being Hispanic or South American, 25-35 years old, 5’ – 5’5” in height, 110-125 pounds, with dark brown curly hair, and brown colored eyes. He was wearing a blue short-sleeve jersey-style shirt with lime green de-signs, black jeans, a black belt, white socks, and black shoes. See photos.

Anyone with any information on the identity of this person is asked to contact the Coroner’s Division at (925) 313-2850.

Sacramento, CA – Assemblyman Jim Frazier (D – Discovery Bay) passed his remaining bills from the Assembly Floor leading up to today’s (Friday, June 2, 2017) House of Origin deadline. Eleven of his bills were brought up for a vote this week, passed and now head to the Senate. 

“These bills reflect the very best for my district. They protect farm land and open space, make our streets safer, improve recycling rates and deter illegal dumping, and encourage healthy relationships,” Frazier stated. “I’ve been working my tail off to make sure they pass and will continue to put in a tremendous effort as they move through the Senate.”

The Assemblyman took up the following bills:

AB 63 extends California provisional driver’s licenses to be required for all first time drivers under the age of 21. This measure will reduce the numbers of older teen deaths and accidents which, according to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and the CDC, are the leading cause of emergency room visits, hospitalizations, and deaths for California children ages 1 to 19 years old. AB 63 passed on the Assembly Floor on a 47 to 21 vote.

AB 377 establishes a pilot program to maximize on unused funding to create a childcare subsidy plan for local families and child care providers in high-cost counties of Solano and San Diego. In Solano County, it’s estimated that over 100 more children would be eligible for child care at no additional cost. AB 377 passed on the Assembly Floor on a 77 to 0 vote.

AB 472 will facilitate waterfowl conservation and other environmental benefits on private lands in a voluntary, incentive-based manner and allow non-irrigated crop to remain on lands for the benefit of waterfowl. AB 472 passed on the Assembly Floor on a 76 to 0 vote.

AB 509 creates the Tire Recycling Incentive Program (TRIP) to meet state’s mandated tire recycling rate of 75% by 2020. Californians generate over 44 million waste passenger tires every single year but only recycles 37%, largely due to illegal dumping. AB 509 passed on the Assembly Floor on a 45 to 30 vote.

AB 521 lowers the cost for an elk tag for hunting from $450 to $100 for adults and $20 for apprenticeship tags for children. This brings the cost of an elk tag in California more in line with other states. AB 521 passed on the assembly floor on a 67 to 4 vote.

AB 643 requires schools to teach age-appropriate lessons about the early warning signs of domestic abuse and unhealthy relationships. AB 643 passed on the assembly floor on a 77 to 0 vote.

AB 718 allows private wetland owners to initiate the opportunity to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with their local Mosquito Vector District regarding mosquito pesticide abatement.  This measure will implement a more uniform approach between public and private land to mosquito abatement and associated costs. AB 718 passed on the assembly floor on a 76 to 0 vote.

AB 732 ensure that levees throughout the Delta are properly maintained, protecting farmland and communities. This will extend the sunset for a 75% – 25% funding formula that shares maintenance costs of Delta levees between the state and the local agency. AB 732 passed on the assembly floor on a 71 to 1 vote .

AB 1607 is an effort to create career and employment opportunities for persons with developmental disabilities. This bill seeks to build self-sufficiency through job discovery and readiness training. AB 1607 passed on the assembly floor on a 75 to 0 vote.

AB 1633 creates regulations for private establishment of highway exit signs with information for electric vehicle charging facilities. AB 1633 passed on the assembly floor on a 76 to 0 vote.