16 Feb Meet the Members of New Antioch Police Oversight Commission

The members of the new Antioch Police Citizens Oversight Commission stand with City Council member Tamisha Torres-Walker, left, and Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe, fourth from right.

By Arionna White

The members of the first Antioch Police Citizens Oversight Commission were officially sworn in Wednesday after being appointed the night before.

This comes as Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe and City Council Member Tamisha Torres-Walker, in particular, have been fighting for police reform for the past few years. Within the last year, Antioch was taken by storm as racist text messages were exposed in the Police Department and mistreatment confirmed. Ten current and former officers who have been exposed are now facing charges from the Contra Costa District Attorney’s office and were federally indicted by the U.S Department of Justice, while multiple agencies are investigating the department.

“As a city, we should demand and expect those provided the privilege of wearing law enforcement badges must be held to the highest accountability standards,” Hernandez-Thorpe said Wednesday at a press conference.

Candidates were interviewed by City Council members and local youth under 18, who chose the following seven individuals to serve on the commission, which was created in 2022.

Alicia Dianne Lacey-Oha is a San Francisco native and an Antioch resident since 2005. In 2011, she received her master’s degree in public administration. She has been employed with the federal government in different positions such as legal assistant and immigration services officer. In 2022, she received the Hubert Humphrey Award and protested with the NAACP and Stop the Violence in San Francisco as well.

Devin Williams is a longtime resident who has lived in the city since 2002 and went to Deer Valley High School. After graduating, he pursued his interest in acting, studying at Los Medanos College. During the stay-at-home orders early in the pandemic, seeing that the outside world had a lot of disparities inspired him to fight for justice. He joined the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, a community organization fighting for housing and social and economic justice. ACCE has also helped organize tenants calling for rent control and anti-harassment policy in Antioch. He then joined Reimagine Antioch when the police scandal was at its peak and is now a program coordinator for Uplift Contra Costa.

Porshe Taylor has worked for prison reform with Inside Out Inc. and advocates for those who have been impacted by the criminal justice system. In 2019, she said she became enlightened by a toxin cleanse and gained a strong sense of purpose, which led to the creation of the nonprofit Prison From-TheInside-Out. She is the first African American woman to develop a curriculum for correctional facilities that is approved by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Taylor is also owner and executive director of the Mary Mac Transitional Homes.

Leslie May is a Bay Area native and has lived in Antioch for nine years. She holds three master’s degrees: in clinical psychology, public administration and health administration.She is a mental health therapist specializing in trauma, recovery and mental health stabilization. She has also worked in various other areas of government and is a past commissioner and co-chair of Contra Costa County Mental Health Commission.

Mahogany Spears has been an Antioch resident for over a decade. She is a dedicated community advocate with a passion for mental health law and public policy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science, master’s degree in psychology, and a law degree from San Francisco Law School. Spears has taken a desire working with complex issues channeling mental health awareness in the criminal justice system. In 2015, she received a certificate of recognition from state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, for her commitment to formerly incarcerated individuals. Since, she has dedicated herself to using law and psychology to advance social justice as a forensics behavioral health clinician. She helps to normalize discussions around mental health, police practices and stronger bonds with the community.

Treva Hadden, who was born in Oakland, graduated magna cum laude with her B.A. in psychology. Hadden is the proud mother of a disabled child and a former volunteer basketball coach in the Special Olympics. She has a background in working with the public with the Alameda County Sheriff’s office, Oakland Police Department and in detention facilities with the inmates affairs unit internal affairs division, where she would identify patterns and recommend training or disciplinary action plans. She is currently working in public ethics as an investigator for the city of Oakland. She says trust along with transparency in law enforcement are necessary to have stability in the community and officer safety.

Harry Thurston has been a resident of Antioch since 1988. He says policing needs to be fully backed by the community. He graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in forestry and engineering in 1975 in Humboldt. Thurston was in the Peace Corps from 1976 to 1978, and was stationed in Malaysia at a state forest. From 2015-18, he served on Antioch’s crime prevention commission. Since 2016, he has served on the Antioch Rotary. He has also served on a Contra Costa County advisory board, including as chair. Thurston has served as a member, board member, and first vice president of the East County chapter of the NAACP since 2020. In 2021 he joined the Antioch Historical Society, of which he is still a member.

This group of educated individuals was chosen in the hopes that the Antioch Police Oversight Commission could not only change the narrative of racism in Antioch but also hold those in law enforcement accountable for their actions.