Mayor blasts police union attorney over accusations
Attorney suggested chief 'got tired' of not being able to make decisions they way he wanted.
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe on Friday blasted the Antioch police union’s attorney after he accused him in the media of taking away the police chief’s authority to make decisions.
“I think he just finally got tired of not being able to make the decisions to guide both the investigation and the department the way he wanted to,” Attorney Mike Rains, who represents the Antioch Police Officers’ Association, said in a Thursday interview with KTVU.
Thorpe countered the assertions in a Facebook post Friday morning, saying the attorney was seeking to make the police department’s current state of affairs about politics. The chief announced he was retiring on Wednesday.
“The moral crimes that your clients have committed are so egregious, and so outside of normalcy, that it required a leader with internal fortitude to bring order to the Antioch Police Department.”
In his letter, meanwhile, Thorpe said Ford “was that person,” someone who came in and “believed he could change the hearts and minds of the members of the department. However, Thorpe said the culture of the department was “so toxic” that “they denigrate their leader in the most vile way a black man can be referenced.”
“This morning I had an encouraging conversation with Chief Steve Ford concerning his recent retirement announcement,” the mayor wrote on social media. “While Chief Ford and I are in regular communication, I was traveling back from a transportation conference in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday.
“I thanked Chief Ford for his service and he reassured me that the reforms we’ve started have built a strong foundation for new leadership.
“There will be local blogs and a paid lawyer for the officers involved in the racist text messaging scandal who try to politicize his retirement announcement.”
Ford has not said why he is leaving, but in a letter to the council and others, he said: “I attribute our numerous accomplishments to support from the City Council, the tremendous citizens of Antioch, and the talented members of this Police Department, who continue to embrace organizational changes with enthusiasm and dedication. Because of this, the Antioch Police Department has become more inclusive, equitable, and a better place to work.
Acting City Manager Kwame Reed, meanwhile, said he will talk with the chief about initiatives he has been working on in the last 16 months.
“We just want to make sure that we can continue some of those good efforts,” he said.
Reed will appoint the acting chief to temporarily take over for Ford, but it remains to be seen if the City Council will take a more active role in finding his replacement this time out.