Fired Antioch police officer charged with assault, body-camera footage released

ANTIOCH, Calif. - A former Antioch police officer has been charged with assault, according to the Antioch Police Department.

Matthew Nutt allegedly assaulted a man during an arrest in a July 2022 traffic stop, said officials. Nutt is also accused of violating several department policies on force: using unreasonable force, failure to de-escalate, and failing to use "alternative tactics."

An automatic review of Nutt's body-camera footage was initiated after his "application of force." During the review, a supervisor had concerns believing Nutt's actions possibly violated the department's policies on use of force. 

An internal investigation against Nutt was conducted, and Nutt was moved into a role where he had no "direct public contact." He was fired on April 21, 2023. 

Nutt was charged with one misdemeanor count of assault by a public officer Tuesday by the Contra Costa County District Attorney.

Police said the accusations stem from an incident where Nutt stopped a car for not displaying their license plates. Nutt soon learned a passenger, and not the driver, had outstanding warrants and placed the suspect under arrest. When the suspect "refused" to sit in the back of the police car and "[displayed] physical resistance," Nutt allegedly began punching and kicking the suspect along with knee and elbow strikes. 

In the video, the suspect repeatedly asked for medical, saying he's going to have a panic attack as officers forced him into the squad car.

When the suspect was on the ground, he told officers he will get into their car if they let him up. Nutt was also heard threatening the suspect with a Taser. 

Afterward, the suspect tries to apologize to the police when one officer responds with, "I don't care about your f-ing apology, get in the f-ing car."

At least six officers and four cars responded to the scene. The driver was briefly detained and was told by an officer that "[his] friend is being an a-hole." 

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It wasn't immediately known if either the driver or passenger were charged with any crimes or if any other officers present faced disciplinary action. Terry Robinson, the person seen being assaulted by the officer, was wanted on warrants. 

"The Antioch Police Department is committed to accountability and full transparency – my hope is our community will see the actions of our personnel to investigate and bring this matter to my attention as an expression of their commitment to accountability and the core tenants of their oath. This unfortunate incident is not reflective of the women and men who serve our community…" said Police Chief Steven Ford in part.

On Thursday, KTVU spoke with the chief, who said the situation was initially brought to his attention based on an internal assessment within the department. 

"I can assure everyone that the organization is in transition…we’re doing everything we can to better align ourselves with constitutional policing and procedural justice practices and I just want to rest assured everyone that we are a reputable organization and we’re doing the best job we can with what we have," Chief Ford said. He added that he would not sugarcoat what happened, admitting, "it's a bad look." 

Ford said it wasn't all officers who make what he called bad decisions. 

"We do have a small segment of officers who appear to have made some very poor decisions, but we still have officers coming to work every day doing the right thing within the confines of the rules and regulations of the law," said Ford 

Nutt worked for the department for four years. Prior to his service, he worked for the Los Angeles Police Department for two years.

KTVU'S Brooks Jarosz contributed to this story.