Antioch divided over councilwoman’s outcry against police handling of her sons

An Antioch councilwoman’s recent social media outcry against the aggressive way she says police police treated her sons unleashed a torrent of supportive and critical public comments at a City Council meeting Tuesday.

Although the council took no action, the comments elicited a promise to consider ordering police body and dashboard cameras.

Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker, who is Black and represents District 1, took to Facebook in a tearful, profanity-laced video shortly after police stopped her 23-year-old and 13-year-old sons on Dec. 29 for riding off-road vehicles on city streets. She accused the officers of overreacting and trying to run over her 13-year-old son and later handcuffing him after her older son escaped.

Police meanwhile have pledged to initiate an independent investigation into the incident.

A little more than half of the 170 people who called into the meeting or wrote messages supported Torres-Walker and/or police reform while others slammed her remarks and called for her resignation or removal.

“I am beyond disgusted with the comments made about Councilwoman Walker,” activist Shagoofa Khan said of Facebook comments calling her derogatory names. “This is racism. This is hate against a Black mother who was upset with how the police were treating her kids. If you do not think something is wrong with how people are calling her names then you are the problem.”

NAACP’s Willie Mims also said he was troubled by the hatred directed at Torres-Walker since the incident.

“All of these attacks on this woman bring back historic memories of a lynch mob mentality,” he said.

Others agreed, saying her video was a call for fair treatment.

“In her reaction, I hear Councilmember Walker’s honest, unfiltered anger, her worry and her cry for fairness,” Rose Strogatz said. “We must face our history of systemic institutional racism in law enforcement, particularly against young Black men. Facing that history includes the willingness to work on acknowledging, exploring and overcoming our implicit biases whenever they surface.”

The Rev. Will McGarvey, a local pastor and executive director of Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, agreed the incident had racial overtones and urged the council to establish some kind of community oversight board.

Cardenas Shackelford, of the Richmond NAACP, pointed to Antioch’s diversity and a need for change.

“Tamisha is fighting to get our society to stop treating Black people as though their lives don’t matter because Black lives do matter,” he said. “With that said, I agree that Antioch PD needs to be required to wear body cams, cruisers equipped with dashboards and the establishment of a civilian oversight commission.”

Mary Calhoun said Torres-Walker “displayed her fearlessness” in calling out Antioch police for “attempting to criminalize her children.”

Others, however, saw things differently, suggesting the councilwoman should be disciplined or removed from office. Though the council could censure her, the only way to remove an elected official is through a voter recall.

Korina Anderson, who lives in Torres-Walker’s district, called the councilwoman’s behavior “inappropriate.”

“I don’t want a person who speaks with such disrespect and filthy mouth to represent Antioch,” she wrote in an email. “I understand her wanting to defend her children even though they were breaking the law, but when she took the job as a councilwoman, she is that first and foremost…She doesn’t care about the city, she should step down.”

Theresa Elser also said Torres-Walker should resign.

“Her children were breaking the law, they are not above the law, nor is she. The officers were doing their jobs. After that disgusting display, which included vulgar language and berating of our PD and chief, I can safely say I do not want her on our City Council.”

“The issue with you is not your language or even really about your parenting skills. It is about the spirit of your message,” Carrie Iverson wrote. “You are toxic to this community and already draining resources. … You purchased vehicles for your children to use illegally, you sanctioned it and then when APD needed to step in where you failed, you blamed them.”

Jim Lanter also called the video “an embarrassment. “This incident is not going to get brushed off,” he wrote. “The damage that could occur economically to our city is hard to imagine. If I was looking to bring my business to a city, this kind of action would be a detriment.”

“Her public rant has further divided our city,” Kathryn Fitzpatrick added.

Bernice Murguia-Gutierrez, however, said she was concerned about “the mounting complaints about our police department in regards to excessive force.”

“Our police department needs to reestablish the faith in our community somehow. We need to find a way to secure funding, so we can implement the reforms like body-worn cameras.”

Though council members could not discuss issues that aren’t on the agenda, Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock asked the council to consider new norms for elected officials and read aloud a prepared speech as the meeting was about to end.

“We as council members set the tone for our community, we are the leaders here, in the city of Antioch, we are held to a higher standard. We need to be cognitive of the language we use, such as profanity.  Are the words we’re using offensive, will they be harmful in any way to others? If the answer is yes, then we should not be using them.”

“…I believe there should be accountability and consequences for these actions, and I will be asking that the council add an agenda item to discuss any course of action deemed appropriate.”

Councilman Mike Barbanica later asked for police dashcam and body cameras while Torres-Walker asked to discuss civilian oversight and independent investigations of citizen complaints at a future meeting.

Such issues will be considered in a Feb. 23 study session following the “Bridging the Gap” community meetings, Mayor Lamar Thorpe said. The city plans to host three sessions, the first of which is Jan. 19. And though that one is booked, you can still watch it online at www.antiochonthemove.com/city-of-antioch-bridging-the-gap/.

“Our city is a microcosm of our nation,” Thorpe noted. “Acknowledging respectfully different opinions, perspectives and ideals as well as bringing them to the table is not dividing us but instead uniting us as we heal our differences to head toward a stronger tomorrow. One such opportunity is police reform.

“The entire month of March is dedicated to police reform,” he added.