“The important part is not that we have put the agreement together,” civil rights attorney John Burris, who filed the complaint on behalf of the residents, said. “The important part is to implement it and that it’s followed, and that people are held accountable if they, in fact, do not follow the rules and procedures set forth.”
Burris said his clients reached the $4.6 million settlement agreement with the city earlier this year. He appeared alongside city government officials on Friday morning to sign the agreement.
“The last few years have been difficult and for many residents deeply unsettling,” Antioch City Manager Bessie Scott said. “Trust was strained, confidence in institutions took a serious hit and many in our community have carried that weight in ways that don’t throw up in the headlines.”
Some of the changes to police department policy seemed to address specific allegations of misconduct from the suit.
One plaintiff, Trent Allen, was arrested on murder charges in 2021. Allen alleged that Antioch officers knocked him unconscious and then continued to kick him.
During an FBI investigation into alleged criminal activity by Antioch and Pittsburg officers, investigators found a trove of racist and violent text messages from the arresting officers.
That federal investigation ultimately resulted in the arrests of several other officers from both Antioch and Pittsburg for a range of charges, including illegally obtaining and distributing anabolic steroids, destroying evidence and faking college credits to get pay bumps.
