Antioch, civil rights attorney John Burris reach settlement over 45 officers
Civil rights attorney John Burris speaks during a press conference in Antioch, Calif., on Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times via Getty Images)
ANTIOCH, Calif. - The city of Antioch and civil rights attorney John Burris on Friday announced the settlement of long-standing police abuse cases involving 23 people and 45 police officers and three former police chiefs.
Burris, who plans to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. with Antioch City Manager Bessie Scott, said 23 people came to his office hoping to be awarded money stemming from their allegations, but he said this new non-monetary settlement in the Trent Allen v. Antioch case, does more than that: it addresses "persistent issues of police misconduct within the Antioch Police Department."
Settlement calls for reforms
Antioch PD racist texting case in court
The courtroom was packed Friday as officers from the Antioch Police Department prepared to testify about racist text messages uncovered during an ongoing investigation.
The allegations against police, Burris said, include physical and canine abuse, widespread use of racial, homophobic, gender, and ethnic slurs, lack of supervision, poor discipline, and a lack of accountability.
This new 55-page settlement, which was crafted with the help of federal Magistrate Laura Beeler, establishes and enforces "policies and procedures to ensure accountability among Antioch police officers," Burris said.
Some of these policy reforms include more training, stricter oversight, the establishment of an independent review board to assess complaints and an independent monitor to oversee the enforcement of the agreement.
K-9 deployment data
Former Antioch officer sentenced to 7 years
Former Antioch police officer sentenced to 7 years for K9 attack and fraud.
One section of the agreement, for example, mandates data collection on K-9 deployments, stating that the use of force and the race and gender of the suspects be made public on a website quarterly.
Another section of the agreement mandates that all allegations of officer misconduct will be forwarded to the police chief no more than 72 hours from receipt, and then must be tracked by the city manager, who must in turn, report to the independent monitor.
In December 2023, Burris and his team, including partner Ben Nisenbaum, sued Antioch for the third time, representing men and women, some of whom were shot by police, others who said they were wrongfully detained, or affected by a string of racist texts that rocked the department.
One of those plaintiffs was Shaquille Hillard, who alleged he was searched and arrested without cause in 2022 by officers Arron Hughes and Morteza Amiri, the K-9 officer who in his texts called Black people "gorillas" and other derogatory terms, while also saying, "I sometimes just say people gave me a full confession when they didn't. gets filed easier [sic]."
These 23 plaintiffs were awarded $4.6 million in a 2023 settlement, Burris said.
Other settlements, 14 officers charged
Report: 13 Antioch police officers have been fired over racist email scandal
Bay Area News Group has obtained emails that police commanders sent Antioch leaders.
In January of this year, Antioch reached a separate but parallel settlement with the state Department of Justice to resolve an investigation of race discrimination by Antioch officers, going as far back as 2019.
Under that agreement, Antioch police said they would hire an expert law enforcement consultant to review procedures.
And on the federal level, the U.S. Department of Justice has, to date, charged 14 Antioch police officers with a variety of crimes, including bank and fraud, steroid distribution, and civil rights violations. All the officers have either been sentenced or have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.