12 Feb Resignation Puts Antioch Short of DOJ Agreement

Devin Williams, a member of the Antioch Police Oversight Commission, delivered a statement Tuesday by its chair to the City Council. (Screenshot captured by Samantha Kennedy / The CC Pulse)

By Samantha Kennedy

Just over a month after Antioch and the U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement resolving a federal investigation into racism and other discrimination by officers, the Antioch City Council says the city is already out of compliance.

Following the resignation of Antioch Police Oversight Commission member Leslie May on Monday, only four police oversight commissioners remain — that’s one less than the DOJ asks the city to maintain for the duration of the five-year agreement. 

Mayor Ron Bernal said at Tuesday’s council meeting that he’ll be proposing an end to the commission’s meetings until June to figure out next steps. 

“The pause isn’t about slowing down our work,” APOC chair Porshe Taylor said in a statement provided by Commissioner Devin Williams. “It’s about making sure we are equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to hold systems accountable and advocate for real change.” 

In the meantime, Bernal said the commissioners would still be doing work on their respective committees. 

The break will “ensure that all commissioners, both new and existing, receive the training necessary to effectively serve,” according to Taylor’s statement. 

The city said May’s resignation followed “several contentious interactions with city leaders,” including the Jan. 17 meeting where she used the n-word various times. Council members were set to consider removing her at Tuesday’s meeting before she resigned. 

May said she stepped down because she has been targeted and threatened.

“The dangerous attacks against me have increased since my appointment and most recently fueled by Councilmember Don Freitas calling for my resignation due to a cultural misunderstanding,” May wrote in a letter sent to the Antioch City Council and law enforcement, according to Bay City News. 

Freitas first called on her to resign last month.  

Council member Tamisha Torres-Walker, who spoke in May’s defense following her resignation, criticized the city’s response. 

“This media advisory is rich coming from a City that allowed its police force to racially profile and intimidate residents of color for more than two decades,” she said in a social media post. Opportunity Village will end in April, funding for the community crisis response in December and the police department remains understaffed, she said. 

“I guess the immediate threat to public safety is the N-word,” she continued. 

With May’s resignation, three members have resigned since the appointment of its seven inaugural members last February. 

One-third of its meetings have also been canceled or left unscheduled due to a lack of a quorum or falling on holidays, according to city documents. 

Some residents have criticized the commission, which was first created in 2022, questioning its usefulness and what they say are commissioners’ biases. 

Others, however, have praised the purpose of the commission, which includes working alongside the Antioch Police Department and a consultant to, among other things, review non-discriminatory policing policies. 

Torres-Walker: ‘I’m not lukewarm’

APOC member Alicia Lacey-Oha, who disapproved of May’s use of the n-word, told Torres-Walker on Tuesday that her comments at the commission’s Feb. 3 meeting were admonishing “commissioners for addressing an important matter regarding the racial epithets” May used. 

“From my observations, Torres-Walker took sides on Feb. 3,” she said. “If Torres-Walker does not take a stand against inappropriate conduct by a commissioner … then she is standing in the way of progress, accountability and healing in the city of Antioch.” 

Torres-Walker, who attended the Feb. 3 meeting as a resident, said it was her right as a citizen to take a stance. 

“I’m either hot or cold,” she said. “So, no, I’m not lukewarm; I’m going to have a position. That’s just the way it is.”

Torres-Walker also thanked commissioners for their work, including May. 

“Whether you like what her comments were, what she said, as a private citizen, she did serve on the commission,” she said. 

The next Antioch City Council meeting is Feb. 25.