ANTIOCH — At the inaugural meeting of Antioch’s first police oversight commission, Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe urged the new board to approach its role with “neutrality.”
“This is a very important commission,” he told the board Monday evening. “And I can’t emphasize enough that we as a city have never ever been here before.”
While thanking the seven commissioners for volunteering, Hernandez-Thorpe reminded them that their role is “to represent the interest of the city council and the mayor.” As an advisory board, the commission can review police policies and make suggestions to the council, which ultimately decides on whether to approve them.
That differs from charter cities like Oakland, where the civilian police commission has much greater power and can vote to terminate a police chief, select chief candidates for the mayor to pick from and investigate allegations of police officer misconduct.
The Antioch commission was created by ordinance on May 24, 2022, to advise on city policies, strengthen trust, transparency and police-community relations, and promote and encourage open communication and cooperation between the Antioch Police Department and residents.
“This commission is not a is not a cheerleader for the police department and it’s not a critic of the police department,” Thorpe-Hernandez said. “Your role is neutral.”
Rather, the mayor urged commissioners to take on the role “to help rebuild trust because trust has been violated,” he said.
The commission’s work comes as Antioch has been rocked by police scandals. First, an FBI and Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office investigation resulted criminal charges against 10 police department members, including three officers for violating civil rights by allegedly preplanning to deploy a police dog and use less-lethal projectiles on residents. That investigation uncovered racist and homophobic text messages sent or received by nearly half of the city’s police force. Several officers were fired or put on leave related to both investigations, and civil rights attorneys have since filed multiple lawsuits against the city.
Interim Police Chief Brian Addington, who took over the department last month, told the board on Monday evening that he plans to stay on until a new permanent chief is hired.
“I assure you that I will be open, that I will be transparent and that I’m excited to work with this oversight body,” he said. “I also want to invite you to learn more about our police department and invite each one of you to come do a ride along with our officers.”
First up on the agenda was the election of the board’s leaders. Harry Thurston, who was previously sworn in as a three-year member, became chair on a 6-1 vote.
A longtime Antioch resident and retired IT manager and former forest engineer, Thurston has previously served on numerous Antioch commissions, including the Antioch Crime Prevention Commission, Contra Costa County Advisory Board on Public Safety Realignment, Contra Costa County Sustainability Commission and was first vice president of the East County Branch of the NAACP.
He told fellow board members he had worked for three years to get a police oversight commission started — and wants to see it be “successful.”
“I agree about being neutral,” Thurston said. “We’re here to make public safety key to the city” and increase “faith in our police department.”
Porsche Taylor, who originally raised her hand to be chair, was later unanimously approved as vice chair. A two-year commissioner, Taylor is a business owner, heads the nonprofit Prison From-TheInside-Out and works for Contra Costa County.
“Neutral is what I stand for and the work that I do,” she told fellow commissioners, noting she has worked for the county for more than 13 years.
After a short discussion, the commissioners agreed they’d first like to see informational presentations on police use of force, hiring practices, how the department’s tactical vehicle is used and the process of how the department handles civilian complaints against police officers.
The commission will next meet at 6:30 p.m. April 1 in the city’s council chambers. All meetings are open to the public.