Antioch police failed to de-escalate situation before punching woman, expert says

ANTIOCH — After a woman was punched recently by an Antioch police officer during a homeless encampment cleanup, a former detective said officers failed to de-escalate the encounter.

Analyst Michael Leininger, a former detective with the San Jose Police Department, said Antioch officers should have applied training techniques to gain control of the situation without excessive use of force and to prevent further escalation.

“During this prolonged struggle, and I believe this is the primary reason why this might have actually occurred, she’s being twisted. She’s being put in pain compliance holds, and she reacts,” Leininger told this news organization.

The woman, 41-year-old Ja’Marlette Hardy, bit one of the officers during the July 1 encounter, which led to the officer delivering a blow to her head.

“They both literally have a visceral reaction. She’s in pain and bites him, and then he responds by punching her,” Leininger said.

The officer, who was not identified, has been placed on paid administrative leave. A use-of-force review is underway and an independent investigator will be assigned to review the incident, the Antioch Police Department said.

The department’s U.S. Department of Justice consultant and Internal Affairs Division were both advised of the incident. The matter will also be reported to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, said police.

While Leininger did not condone what led to the punch, he said the officer, being a “highly trained professional,” should have contained his temper.

“I’ve been bit before, and you do get angry, you definitely do, but you have to be more of a professional and not respond,” Leininger said. “I believe the police department responded that it was a distraction strike or a physical strike, and that’s acceptable under certain circumstances. But this would not have been one of them.”

On July 1, the BNSF Railway had conducted a homeless encampment sweep at the BNSF railway tracks downtown. At the same time, the Antioch code enforcement team was conducting its own abatement operation at Waldie Plaza to prevent unhoused individuals leaving the railway tracks from storing personal belongings there.

A few police officers were present to ensure code enforcement contractors carrying out abatement activities were safe. During the clean-up, Hardy, also known as Frenchie, confronted the cleanup crew.

Despite repeated verbal commands from officers to move away from the crew, Hardy reportedly did not comply.

As officers arrested Hardy for interfering with their duties, she bit one of them on the shoulder, police said.

Video footage of the incident appears to show two officers struggling with Hardy, with one of them punching her before taking her to the ground.

Antioch, Leininger said, did not have proper plans in place prior to the homeless abatement operation.

“These people had been moved from a train station, and they went to the park, so they literally herded them like cattle from one place to the next,” he said.

Leininger said those gathered appeared to be there during designated park hours and questioned whether code enforcement officers had sufficient legal grounds to remove them.

The city should have provided viable options before moving the unhoused individuals, said Leininger.

He also criticized the absence of mental health professionals, saying officials should have anticipated encountering vulnerable individuals.

“If you want to be successful in moving these people from one location to the next, you need to have the appropriate resources. And they did not,” Leininger said.

On July 10, a small group of unhoused individuals and advocates staged a protest in front of Antioch City Hall, calling for the officer involved to be fired.

The group also demanded that the city provide better treatment and services for homeless individuals.

Hardy said she has suffered from blackouts and migraines from time to time after the scuffle. The incident, however, has not deterred her from speaking out and advocating better treatment for other homeless individuals.

“I took one for the team. I’m here, and I have something to say: get us off the streets, stop treating us like animals, and do something about y’all racist and corrupt cops because it doesn’t make sense,” said Hardy. “We’re human. Y’all better start reading y’all Bibles too, because it also says in there that you should extend your hand to the poor.”

Another unhoused individual, known as Michelle, said the city needs to approve a Homekey+ program, which could convert a local hotel into 85 supportive housing units with wraparound services for those experiencing homelessness.

“Everyone is going through something. We need to be kind. We are human beings. There is nothing wrong with us. We just want to go home,” said a teary-eyed Michelle.

Nichole Latrese Gardner, founder of nonprofit Facing Homelessness in Antioch, questioned why the city and Mayor Ron Bernal have not responded when asked about the incident.

“We spend millions of dollars displacing people, moving them from one street corner to the next without a solution,” said Gardner. “The best thing for these folks is housing. We need to get people into stable housing in order to get them the resources they need.”

Gigi Crowder, CEO of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Contra Costa chapter, said Black residents in Antioch have faced many challenges.

“When we start talking about what happened to Frenchie, it’s not lost on me the fact that she’s an African-American woman. I do not think the same outcome would have happened if she had not been African American,” Crowder said. “We have a history in the city of doing harm to Black people. From the racialized text messages, there was no healing that took place. It’s just continued pain.”

The Antioch Police Department has faced federal and state scrutiny over the years after a scandal involving racism and alleged criminals within its ranks came to light.

In 2022, the department was first investigated by the FBI and the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office for alleged corruption and crimes, including possible violent civil rights violations and assaults.

Amid the investigations, authorities discovered a slew of racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic text messages exchanged between officers in 2023. Dozens were then investigated or placed on leave following the revelations.