Antioch temporarily suspends police commission
Antioch police commission suspended for lack of members
Antioch police commission suspended for lack of members.
ANTIOCH, Calif. - Antioch's city council has voted to temporarily suspend the city's police commission.
Mayor Ron Bernal said on Tuesday that the recent resignation of a commission member leaves the group with just four members, not enough for a quorum.
He said the commission needs to find three more members to make sure it meets the agreement with the Department of Justice, which was established in response to a recent racist police text messaging scandal.
"We want to make this as good a commission as it can be," Bernal said at the meeting. "We want people to be well-trained. We want people to be well represented. We want people to know what the commission can and can't do, what their role and responsibilities are. And my opinion, and the reason for the request for the pause, is those things needed to be shored up."
Antioch's police department is under federal oversight, and is currently searching for a new police chief.
The pause of the commission will last until at least June.