Councilwoman blasts police handling of sons
Authorities will investigate Torres-Walker’s allegation of officers overreacting to incident
Antioch police will initiate an independent investigation of an incident that sparked a profanity-laced tirade by a newly elected councilwoman who alleged officers overreacted to her sons for riding off-road vehicles on city streets.
Tamisha Torres-Walker, who represents District 1, took to
Facebook Live in a tearful nineminute outcry shortly after her 23-year- old and 13-year- old sons had an encounter with police officers on the afternoon of Dec. 29. Public reaction to her comments were mixed, with some criticizing her as an embarrassment and others defending her by suggesting the spotlight should fall on the police instead.
“I am so pissed off right now, you just don’t know,” TorresWalker said on Facebook in a video that has since been removed, although saved on YouTube by East County Today. “… When I roll up and say, ‘ who do you think I am,’ I am not talking about being a (expletive) city council member, I am talking about being an angry- as-(expletive) ma ma bec au se you almost killed my kids.”
Torres-Walker accused police officers of trying to run over her 13-year- old son because they
“were mad” after chasing her older son, who escaped.
“This ain’t about race, this is about a (expletive) culture and you mother (expletive) think you are above the law,” Torres-Walker, who is Black, said in the video.
Antioch Police Chief Tammany Brooks said in a statement he was aware of the recent video and the off-road vehicle incident.
“I take these allegations very seriously and have initiated an investigation into the matter,” he wrote in an email. “In order to ensure a fair, impartial, and objective process is completed, I will be hiring an outside, independent investigator to conduct the investigation.”
Mayor Lamar Thorpe added that the city “is trying to be proactive and ensure impartiality.”
Thorpe would not comment on the video itself, saying that would be “a distraction” to the focus of the investigation, which is “did we as a city respond appropriately?”
The incident occurred on A Street near Walter Way when Torres-Walker’s two sons were riding a dirt bike and a quad.
In a phone interview on Monday, she said her sons told her they were about to cross the intersec
tion when police tried to stop them because off-road bikes aren’t allowed on the streets.
The patrol car driver “hit his brake and that’s when he flashed his lights. My oldest could have been hit. …. Why would you do that?” Torres-Walker said.
“Everyone is saying these things are not supposed to be on the street but they are on the street every day,” the councilwoman added.
Torres-Walker said her oldest son told her he did not feel safe at that point and sped down 18th Street on his dirt bike to his home about a mile away to alert her. After a short pursuit, the officers returned to her teenage son with hands on their tasers before calling her, Torres-Walker said, adding that they confiscated his quad.
Though she wasn’t at the scene, Torres-Walker said she trusts her sons’ narrative of what happened. She said one officer tried to deescalate the situation but the other intensified it.
“Because I am a raising two Black boys we have that rule in our house,” she said. “We make sure we are transparent about everything because there is going to come a time when you will want your parents to advocate for you.”
This was an instance when body and dashboard cameras would have been useful, Torres-Walker said, noting that after talking with Brooks on Monday it was agreed that a police request for cameras will be placed on a council agenda as soon as possible.
“I think there is a bigger picture to this,” Torres-Walker said. “I know I am not the only mom who has experienced this. I get the reason for the stop, but was an aggressive stop warranted?”
Torres-Walker said she regretted the Facebook post as well as “that this even happened.”
She said she also regretted saying in the video that she didn’t care about being a councilwoman.
“I am a mom first and I am going to protect my kids — I definitely care about my kids first — but I do care about being elected to City Council. I do care about the people who elected me to bring these issues to light, not just policing issues but other issues.”
The language and criticism of police in the video took some residents by surprise.
“I can understand a mom being protective of her kids, but that is ridiculous,” a commenter said on NextDoor. “She needs to familiarize herself with the law and then educate her kids. Regardless of how minor the infraction is, kids need to be aware to listen to authority… Even if the cop was in the wrong, the details can be worked out later with a discussion between the kids, police and parents.”
“What an embarrassment to herself, her family, and our community,” the commenter added.
“Some people will never accept me in a leadership position,” said TorresWalker, who has been upfront about rebuilding her life the past 10 years after being charged with a DUI and serving six months on an arson charge.
Some people gathered near the police station Friday to lend their support.
“It appears to me that more people are upset about Tamisha’s language than the behavior of the police officers and I want you to know our priorities are deeply misplaced,” said Michael McBride, an Oakland pastor and member of the Black Church Political Action Committee.
“If you are wanting to bash Tamisha Walker for using curse words that you used every day when your Raiders or 49ers or Warriors lose a game, you mean to tell me that a mother that is afraid for the life of her child in her moment of rage or passion should not be extended grace?” he added.
Most council members said that they would reserve judgment on the incident until the investigation has been completed. Councilwoman Monica Wilson could not be reached for comment.
“I can understand from a mom’s point, your emotions run high in certain circumstances but I don’t know about that,” Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock said. “I can’t put myself in her shoes because it didn’t happen to me.”
Ogorchock said she thinks elected officials need to be held to a higher standard. “I only know of the Facebook rant. That’s not how I would have handled it but everyone has their own way.”
Councilman Mike Barbanica, a former policeman, also said he is waiting for the investigation to be concluded.
“In a nutshell,” he said, “I can say what I have always done is wait to see when all the facts come in before I make a decision about anything instead of rushing to judgment.”