Home Antioch Antioch City Attorney Delays Release of “Rideout” Emails Highlighting Exchange Between Police Chief and Councilwoman

Antioch City Attorney Delays Release of “Rideout” Emails Highlighting Exchange Between Police Chief and Councilwoman

by ECT

After a June 16 press conference where Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe and Antioch Police Chief Tammany Brooks stated they were prepared for an upcoming dirt bike “rideout” in the City of Antioch, it came out that an Antioch city councilwomans son was promoting the event.

A Public Records Request was issued for communications on June 16 which took five weeks to get the documents including the city attorney twice attempting to deny the request.

Here is the timeline:

  • June 16 – ECT issues Public Records Request on communication between the Chief and councilmembers regarding this rideout event.
  • June 22 – Antioch Police seek clarification – this was provided.
  • June 30 – Antioch Requested 14-additional calendar days to search a separate office/unit for the information. ECT replied
  • June 30 – ECT Replied disputing this need as emails can simply be forwarded or transferred.
  • July 1 – Based on response, another Public Records Request was requested.
  • July 8 – City Attorney “records found are not releasable at this time”. The records requests are being denied under GC 6254 (K) as well as the attorney client privilege under EC 954 and the attorney work product privilege under Cal. Code of Civ. Pro. 2018.030 (a)
  • July 13 – ECT Disputed the City Attorney explaining the privilege does not exist between council and the police chief. Also disputed any communication outside of the actual city business using city council emails also does not apply. (joint effort in coordination with Antioch Herald who was seeking same documents)

Note – there appears to be no communication of Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe and Tamisha Torres-Walker regarding the exchange or other parties CC’d in the email exchange that have been released.

 

On Jun 14, 2021, 4:27 PM, “Brooks, Tammany” wrote:

Good afternoon Councilmember Torres-Walker,

Several people have contacted me in regards to an illegal event planned to take place in Antioch this Sunday. Please see the attached screenshot advertising the event, which I’m being told is from your son Yomani’s Instagram account. These types of events are not only dangerous but illegal as well. Here is a short YouTube video of a news story regarding a similar event in Oakland. People That Ride Dirt Bikes Recklessly Through Oakland Behave Badly – YouTube

Some who are aware of this event (and your son’s alleged involvement) have mentioned wanting to notify local media outlets. I have asked that this not happen, but instead, allow me to stop the event from even occurring. My primary goal is to prevent this dangerous activity from taking place in our city. But I also hope to avoid any type of negative attention this would garner from the public (on you as an elected official, and us as a city) as well.

I am asking for your help to get this event canceled. Prevention is my first and ultimate goal. However, if you are unable to help, we will assemble a special enforcement detail using officers on overtime and seeking mutual aid help from neighboring agencies to address the public safety concern this event will create. We will take a zero-tolerance approach to any/all violations, resulting in arrests and towed vehicles for those participating. I would like to avoid this if at all possible.

 Please let me know if you can help. I greatly appreciate it.

Thanks, T

From: Walker, Tamisha

Sent: Monday, June 14, 2021, 5:47 PM

To: Brooks, Tammany Cc: Bernal, Ron ; Thorpe, Lamar ; ‘Rolando Bonilla’

Subject: Re: Need Your Help Please

Hello Chief Brooks,

Thank you for the email. I was not aware of this event and my son has never organized such an event. It looks like he may have shared an event that was organized by someone else on his personal social media page which is not illegal.

I have no power to stop this but I will talk to my son about not attending because I want him to be safe and I understand that once the police engage in these kinds of events people will and have been gravely injured and/or arrested.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help

 

On Jun 14, 2021, 6:38 PM, “Brooks, Tammany” wrote

Thank you for your response.

 I agree with you that these events are extremely dangerous. Injuries can be sustained by participants, spectators, innocent members of the public who are completely unattached to the event itself, and even officers who are assaulted by those who violently resist and/or use their vehicles as weapons against them. I did not say your son was organizing the event – I said he was advertising it.

I hoped that he or they could speak to the organizers and ask them not to bring this event to our community. It is not welcomed here.

Since you do not have the power to stop it, but would still like to help, I’ll ask that you please find out from your son where this event is scheduled to take place and provide me this information? His post says he knows where this is going to occur, and having this information ahead of time would greatly benefit us to secure the area and hopefully deter potential participants from stopping in the first place.

Preventing the group from congregating/organizing would greatly reduce any likelihood of confrontation, making it safer for all. Thank you in advance for helping us work to prevent this dangerous event from occurring in our city.

Thanks, T

 

From: Walker, Tamisha <[email protected]>Sent: Monday, June 14, 2021 7:07 PM

To: Brooks, Tammany <[email protected]>

Cc: Bernal, Ron <[email protected]>; Thorpe, Lamar <[email protected]>; ‘Rolando Bonilla’

<[email protected]>

Subject: RE: Need Your Help Please

Hello Chief Brooks,

I get it and my son knows what it’s like to have someone use their vehicle as a weapon to harm him.

It seems like the location is never shared ahead of the day of the event so even if I wanted to help with that request I couldn’t.

Maybe the informants that are reporting activity on my son’s social media page can use their investigative skills to find out who is organizing the event and request the location.

I will talk to my son but since he is not organizing the event and has no idea who is I’m not sure that will help either.

 Have a good evening,

 

From: Brooks, Tammany <[email protected]>

Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2021 9:41 AM

To: Thorpe, Lamar <[email protected]>; Bernal, Ron <[email protected]>; ‘Rolando Bonilla’

<[email protected]>

Subject FW: Need Your Help Please All,

I have no intention on responding to Councilmember Torres-Walker’s below email. It is unfortunate that she is taking this stance and refusing to help prevent a dangerous event such as this from occurring in our city.

Although she claims her son is not involved, it is clear from the original screenshot I included to start this conversation that is not true.

To further evidence this, please see the below screenshots that her son posted last night.

Obviously Councilmember Torres-Walker informed him of my request. But instead of helping prevent the dangerous event and negative publicity it will bring us as a city, it has appeared to embolden him and he has doubled down on his messaging to continue on with the event as planned.

Not only will this cost the city taxpayers’ money in unnecessary police overtime, it is endangering the lives of those illegally riding on our streets, the innocent motorists on our roadways, and the officers tasked with trying to enforce the laws being willfully disregarded.

This type of behavior is not good for our community.

Antioch City Attorney Thomas Lloyd Smith also stated other identifiable records were except from disclosure because they either involve confidential communications that include the City Attorney and/or they involve confidential communications done at the direction of the City Attorney to accomplish the purpose for which the City Attorney was consulted and are exempt from disclosure.


Penalty for participating in Sideshows/Driving Off-Road vehicles on city streets:

  • Subject to up to 90-days in jail
  • Fines up to $1,000
  • vehicle towed and stored for 30 days at your expense–costs runs in the $1,000’s

Editors Notes:

  • May 29, 2021: In response to recent sideshows, Antioch Police and neighboring agencies provided proactive traffic enforcement tail netting 50 vehicle stops, 12 citations, 5 towed vehicles, 2 guns recovered and 1 arrest.
  • May 22, 2021:   over 150 cars converged into several areas in Contra Costa County and engaged in several side shows. APD officers were able to stop a group of the vehicles with the help of the allied agencies. 20 subjects were issued citations and 21 vehicles were placed on 30-day tows from this scene. More info
  • May 10, 2021: Antioch Police responded to a report of a vehicle versus quad at Balboa Ct and Buchanan in the City of Antioch. the collision caused substantial damage and the ATV driver was thrown from his vehicle and was unresponsive when the first officers on scene arrived. While he did suffer substantial injuries, we are happy to learn that he is expected to survive this incident. More info
  • April 18, 2021: approximently 150 vehicles made their way from Pittsburg to parts of Antioch where all directions of traffic were blocked by vehicles and spectators as a large-scale side show took place. Many then left city limits and headed to Brentwood. More info
  • March 3, 2021: Antioch POA Issues Statement on Antioch’s Investigation of City Council Member Tamisha Torres-Walker. More info and full statement.
  • Dec. 30, 2020: City Councilwoman Blasts Antioch Police Department after claiming police scared and hurt her son who was riding a dirt bike and quad on city streets this week. More info + video of rant.

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14 comments

Street-Sweeper Jul 21, 2021 - 12:22 pm

Antioch the ghetto capital of CCC. All you idiots that voted these hoodrats in deserve the outcome.

Keep fighting the fight Chief Brooks, don’t let them win.

Where is Mike Barbanica? Still hiding?

Street-Sweeper Jul 21, 2021 - 12:25 pm

ECT nice work on staying persistent with this.

Kelly Jul 21, 2021 - 1:53 pm

She wants he son to be safe now?? He was totally riding a dirt bike recklessly. illegally and running stop signs riding way over the speed limit at the end of December 2020! Then her vulgar mouth popping off and accusing APD of wrong doing! Why is she allowed on Antioch’s city council?? What a disgrace to our city!

Simonpure Jul 21, 2021 - 2:26 pm

WOW! I don’t have anymore words for her and ZERO respect.

OSCAR ARAGON Jul 21, 2021 - 2:50 pm

Chief Brooks should be reminded that Tamisha Walker is NOT a legally elected councilwoman! Therefore, he should have no dealings with her.

Loretta M Sweatt Jul 21, 2021 - 5:22 pm

The council woman needs to get her son a father not a wheeler, maybe she can buy her son one of those.

Loretta M Sweatt Jul 21, 2021 - 6:07 pm

Thank God APD endeavors to enforce the law even though Councilwoman Walker doesn’t want them to.

Loretta M Sweatt Jul 21, 2021 - 6:10 pm

Council woman Walker actually DOES NOT “get it” but she is correct in saying “she’s powerless” In this age of empowered strong women, she’s powerless.

Vicky Stone Jul 23, 2021 - 12:32 pm

Don’t refer to her as a “councilwoman” because she’s not. She was not legally elected.

Loretta M Sweatt Jul 21, 2021 - 6:16 pm

If it takes a police car to stop her son from crime and terror, that’s on her “powerless” self.

Martin NMN Jul 21, 2021 - 8:41 pm

The Walker woman is nothing but a pain-in-the-ass and has absolutely no business on Antioch’s city council. My cat probably has more knowledge about what’s going on here. She should totally ignored and shown the door!

Bill Larson Jul 22, 2021 - 3:15 am

This Walker woman is a total disaster!

me Jul 22, 2021 - 7:43 am

Don’t forget the City Attorney. His delays in fulfilling the FOIA request and interpretation of the law is suspect. He may also be purposely obstructing the FOIA by omitting correspondence.

Sandy Waters Jul 25, 2021 - 1:53 am

Seems that the city attorney is about as useful as a fart in a windstorm. He and the city manager should bar Tamisha from entering the city council chambers again. They should have done that months and months ago. What in hell is their problem? Now, who is Rolando Bonilla?

Comments are closed.