Antioch claims subpoenaed officers have ‘industrial injuries’ to avoid testifying about racism, alleged crimes

The city of Antioch is resisting subpoenas for at least five of its police officers called to testify about racism and alleged crimes within the department, claiming the officers are out on injury leave and therefore unavailable, this news organization has learned.

One of the five is a K9 officer and central focus of an ongoing FBI investigation who was allowed to keep his canine partner while on leave and later claimed he was injured while walking the dog, multiple law enforcement sources say.

Antioch Police Chief Steven Ford has signed sworn declarations under penalty of perjury that the officers — some under FBI investigation and others who sent racist texts to colleagues — have “not been medically cleared by (their) physician to attend court.”

Those documents, obtained by this news organization, say the five won’t be available to testify in a Friday hearing that will explore the department’s alleged violations of the Racial Justice Act. The hearing could result in serious criminal charges being dismissed against four men accused of committing a series of gang-related shootings.

It would be the first courtroom airing of a series of scandals that have ricocheted across Antioch. Ford didn’t respond to a request for comment. But defense attorneys for the four men appear skeptical of the claims.

“It just highlights that these departments can’t police themselves, they can’t take the corrective measures that are needed to root out the racism,” Carmela Caramagno, a lawyer representing one of the men, said in a Tuesday phone interview. “They’re structurally designed to protect themselves over the needs of the community.”

Defense attorneys for the four defendants have subpoenaed at least 15 officers, apparently hoping to question them not just about the offensive texts but also alleged crimes committed by their colleagues. The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office already has conceded that the racist texts constitute a violation of the state’s Racial Justice Act, designed to weed out racism in the criminal justice system, but prosecutors are now arguing against outright dismissal of murder and attempted murder charges against the four defendants, whose attorneys say were unfairly prosecuted by racist detectives.

In May, Judge David Goldstein dismissed special circumstances enhancements against the same four defendants, finding that the Contra Costa DA has used sentencing enhancements disproportionately to target Black people. Now, Goldstein is set to preside over Friday’s hearing, where several officers, experts on racism, and Ford are expected to be called as witnesses.

According to Ford’s sworn declarations, the officers not medically cleared to attend court are Corporal Thomas Smith, Sgt. Joshua Evans and officers Ryan McDonald, Andrea Rodriguez and Morteza Amiri.

The nature of the injuries to Evans, Smith, McDonald and Rodriguez are unknown, but multiple law enforcement sources have told this newspaper that Amiri, a K9 officer, claimed to have accidentally injured himself while walking his dog. Ironically, a criminal grand jury is weighing felony charges against Amiri related to several incidents where his dog, Purcy, bit somebody while Amiri was on duty. Amiri was placed on unpaid leave last year, after the FBI raided his home and seized his cellphone, but was allowed to keep Purcy, the sources said.

Amiri’s work-related injury claim argued that he had a duty to keep his dog in shape. In response, the city processed his claim but also sent two high-ranking officers to Amiri’s home, who informed him that because he was injured he couldn’t continue ownership of Purcy and confiscated the animal, the sources said. Purcy’s current whereabouts are unknown.

Amiri’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

All five officers have been implicated in at least one of the ongoing scandals plaguing the Antioch police force since early 2022. Amiri and Rodriguez are among the more than a dozen current and former Antioch and Pittsburg officers under criminal investigation by the FBI. They — along with Evans, McDonald and Smith — were named in reports outlining the offensive communications by officers.

A grand jury has heard testimony on a number of alleged offenses, including bribery, fraud, drug trafficking and assault under color of authority, according to multiple law enforcement sources. Thus far, no charging decision has been made in federal court, though county prosecutors filed felony gun possession charges against one former Pittsburg officer last year.

After several officers’ phones were seized by authorities, investigators found racist, homophobic or otherwise offensive texts that were sent by Antioch officers, calling into question the legitimacy of potentially thousands of criminal convictions in which these officers had involvement. One text, sent by Evans to Amiri, said, “I’ll bury that n—- in my fields,” according to a report by a DA inspector. Another, by Amiri, brags to a Brentwood officer how Antioch cops can use racial slurs around superiors and not face discipline.

The officers who are under criminal investigation are on unpaid administrative leave, according to Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe. But the California Labor Code for public servants who are injured in the line of work appears to allow them to receive compensation anyway. It says that police officers injured during the performance of their duties are entitled to “a leave of absence while so disabled without loss of salary” for up to one year.

Subpoenas have been served on Antioch officers Brayton Milner, Tom Lenderman, John Ramirez, Detective John Cox and Sgt. Rick Hoffman, the city’s police union president, according to defense attorneys in the case. The attorneys are also trying to track down former Antioch Officer Johnathan Adams but can’t locate him. The officers who the city argues can’t take the stand due to injury may end up being ordered to come to court anyway if they are served with subpoenas as individuals, as opposed to through the police department.