29 Jul Antioch Makes It Illegal to Watch, Put on or Promote Sideshows

Antioch Mayor Lamar Herandez-Thorpe, from second-left, and council members Mike Barbanica and Lori Ogorchock voted in favor of a sideshow criminalization ordinance; council member Tamisha Torres-Walker, left, abstained. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

Antioch’s newest law is meant to reduce sideshows in the city, but not everyone is convinced it will actually deter the events. 

The Antioch City Council made watching, organizing and advertising a sideshow illegal at its July 23 meeting, passing the ordinance 3-1-0 with council member Tamisha Torres-Walker abstaining and Mayor Pro Tem Monica Wilson absent. 

The ordinance means that, if found guilty, spectators, organizers and advertisers of sideshows could be fined $1,000, jailed for six months or both. It will go into effect 30 days after its adoption. 

“The devil is really in implementation and enforcement,” said Torres-Walker, “and we really won’t know whether it works or it doesn’t until it’s enacted and we trust current officers who are committed to quality policing in Antioch to enforce this ordinance and see where it goes.” 

Torres-Walker and other council members have long agreed that something to address sideshows in the city needed to be done, but efforts stalled largely because of debate over the inclusion of spectators in the ordinance. 

Most council members and some in the community have criticized the ordinance’s definition of “spectator” for being too broad, saying it gives officers too much discretion that might lead to mistakes or abuse of power.

Council members first asked staff to exclude spectators from an ordinance in November, but then failed to vote on that ordinance in March because they said it didn’t do enough to prevent sideshows. 

The passed ordinance, however, retains much of the language from the November ordinance that prompted council members to move away from punishing spectators. 

A “spectator” is defined in the ordinance as “any individual who is present at an illegal motor vehicle sideshow, speed contest, or exhibition of speed, or at a location where preparations are being made for such activities for the purpose of viewing, observing, watching, or witnessing the event.”

An individual must be within 200 feet of an event or where preparations for an event are being made to be considered “present,” according to the ordinance. 

Antioch Police Chief William “Brian” Addington addressed other concerns brought forward by Torres-Walker, including whether the ordinance might have a disproportionate impact on some communities. 

“I think our officers are going to do the best they can to enforce the law based on the information they see at the time,” Addington said at the meeting. 

Antioch’s ordinance takes inspiration from sideshow ordinances in Oakland, Pittsburg and San Jose. Council member Michael Barbanica has previously said Pittsburg’s ordinance has reduced sideshows, according to his conversations with Pittsburg officers. 

Barbanica, a retired police officer, has remained supportive of the ordinance and the inclusion of spectators. In previous meetings, he’s said that he believes officers can tell the difference between spectators and those who may simply be trapped by the sideshows. 

Officers will consider, among other things, the time of day, the conduct of an individual present and the number of people and vehicles at a scene when determining if someone is in violation of the ordinance. 

The next Antioch City Council meeting is Aug. 13.