Exclusive: Thirteen Antioch officers lost their jobs over crimes and racist texting scandals, while others faced demotions, pay cuts, reprimand

ANTIOCH — The dual scandals involving alleged crimes and racism by Antioch police officers have so far cost 13 of them their jobs, according to recently obtained emails department commanders sent to city officials.

Among the 13 job losses are seven recent firings over the texting scandal, three firings of officers who allegedly committed crimes and another three resignations by officers who knew that harsh discipline was imminent, city documents say. Additionally, six officers were given unpaid suspensions and one received a written reprimand. One officer was cleared of wrongdoing.

But city officials attempted to fire or discipline several more officers who ultimately won arbitration hearings and got the decisions reversed or reduced, according to multiple officials with firsthand knowledge. An attorney representing the bulk of the impugned officers has accused the city of “failing to follow its own written policy” for discipline and predicted some of the officers will return with back pay.

Multiple law enforcement sources identified six of the officers given notices of intent to fire over the texting scandal, including Sgt. Josh Evans, a self-described “racist” cop who used the N-word in texts to colleagues, and Officer John Ramirez, who in a text offered up a “prime rib dinner” to any cop who fired a less-lethal round at the city’s mayor, Lamar Thorpe-Hernandez, who is Black. The other four were identified as Kelly Inabnett, Brayton Milner, Aaron Hughes and Brock Marcotte. The sources were unable to identify the seventh officer.

“We’re rebuilding the department,” Thorpe-Hernandez said Friday. “We’re excited to be hiring a more diverse class of individuals, some from the local community who don’t represent the past — and that’s racism and corruption.”

The fired officers have a right to appeal and have sought legal counsel, multiple sources said. A lawyer representing the Antioch police union said that the city attempted to fire or impose harsher discipline on several more officers but that officials were stopped after arbitrators ruled they’d failed to follow proper procedure.

Six other officers have recently left the Antioch Police Department over alleged crimes: Morteza Amiri, Devon Wenger, Eric Rombough, Ben Padilla, Calvin Prieto and Andrea Rodriguez. Of them, all except Padilla were also implicated in the texting scandal. Officials wouldn’t say which of these officers were fired and which were resigned, but a councilwoman confirmed last year that Wenger, Amiri and Rombough — all charged with federal civil rights violations and violence — were given letters of the department’s intent to terminate.

Michael Rains, a lawyer representing most of the officers, said in a text message that the city “refused to follow its own written policy in recommending and upholding the discipline,” and disciplined officers who’d been cleared by outside investigators. He accused the city and the Contra Costa District Attorney of “colluding” to allow the “agenda-driven” mayor to go after officers.

“I am confident that arbitrators who have been selected to hear appeals of terminated officers (a process the city was unable to manipulate) will be offended at the process the city employed and put the officers back to work and order the city to pay sizable sums of back-pay,” Rains said.

Two others had previously lost their positions over the criminal investigation: Daniel Harris, a former officer charged with steroid distribution who resigned in 2022, and Samantha Peterson, a former community services officer who received probation for her role in a scheme to illegally acquire education pay bumps by cheating on college tests.

It has been more than two years since FBI agents raided the homes of several East Contra Costa cops and police headquarters, resulting in criminal charges against 14 law enforcement personnel and an administrative investigation over texting communications containing racism, homophobia, sexism and flippant remarks about police violence. There were also numerous discussions where officers discussed acquiring steroids, according to recently filed court records.

Some of the officers have entered guilty or no contest pleas to federal or state charges, most recently Ernesto Mejia-Orozco, a former Pittsburg officer charged in the college degree scandal. Others appear to be holding firm; attorneys for Wenger and Amiri recently filed motions to quash search warrants of their phones, arguing that federal authorities relied on false statements or crafted overbroad affidavits to justify illegal searches. Federal prosecutors are opposing the motions and a judge has yet to make a ruling.

Several lawsuits have been filed as a result of the scandals, and Contra Costa County has dedicated millions of dollars toward identifying criminal cases potentially affected by dishonest or racist cops. Defense attorneys, especially the public defender’s office, have also been filing petitions for dismissal under the state’s Racial Justice Act against people prosecuted from Antioch police investigations. Multiple federal suits have also been filed, alleging that Antioch officers either assaulted or unfairly targeted the plaintiffs.

The most recent court case involving the police department was good news for a former Antioch officer. Matthew Nutt, who was fired for beating a handcuffed man in 2022, was acquitted of a misdemeanor assault charge on Thursday.