Antioch Police Targeted Black People With Dogs and 40mm Launchers, Suit Alleges

Two Antioch residents filed a civil rights lawsuit this week alleging city police officers intentionally injured them with a police dog and less-lethal launchers for amusement, bragged about their use of excessive force in text messages, and falsified records to conceal their misdeeds.

The officers — Morteza Amiri, Eric Rombough and Devon Wenger — were among ten Antioch and Pittsburg police officers and employees indicted by the federal government last year in a sprawling misconduct case that spiraled out of an FBI investigation uncovering thousands of racist text messages. Nearly half of the Antioch Police Department was temporarily placed on leave, the chief resigned, and the officers’ racial bias tainted dozens of criminal cases.

Amiri, Rombough and Wenger’s use of force against plaintiffs Jessie Wilson and Dajon Smith was allegedly part of a years-long pattern in which they planned and carried out excessive force against minorities, especially Black people, according to the federal lawsuit filed Wednesday in the Northern District of California. The officers allegedly referred to their targets as “gorillas,” among other derogatory language.

While the incidents in question against Wilson and Smith took place in 2021, it’s only because of the unearthed text messages that they have the evidence they need to sue, their attorney Fulvio Cajina told KQED.

“The reason we’re bringing this lawsuit now is because we didn’t have the information to bring this lawsuit before,” Cajina said. “It’s only because of the FBI investigation into the Antioch Police Department that we know that there was a conspiracy amongst officers to target minorities and to intentionally violate their civil rights.”

Cajina said the text messages are “sickening.”

The Antioch Police Department and city attorney did not respond to requests for comment.

Much of the officers’ planning was carried out in text messages revealed by the FBI probe in which they frequently described the desire to beat people and allow Purcy, their K-9 unit, to bite them, according to the lawsuit. In February 2019, Rombough texted Amiri, “Yeah buddy we gonna f— some people up,” court documents showed. They discussed revenge for someone “f—ing with [an officer],” and Amiri texted Rombough, “blood for blood.”

In January 2021, an officer texted Amiri to ask about his interaction with a suspect. Amiri responded, “lol putting a pistol in someone’s mouth and telling them to stop stealing isn’t illegal.”

Wilson was injured on Aug. 24, 2021, when Antioch police officers, including Amiri and Rombough, executed a search warrant to enter an Antioch residence, then entered Wilson’s locked room while he was sitting on an air mattress playing video games, according to the lawsuit. An unnamed officer pinned Wilson’s left arm down against his bed, and Rombough shot him with a 40mm less-lethal launcher, according to the indictment.

A less-lethal launcher fires bean bags or sponge bullets and is intended to be used in crowd control environments, according to the website of Pacem Defense, a company selling this type of launcher.

Rombough’s report about the incident differed from those written by other officers. An unnamed sergeant wrote to Rombough to critique his report, “you write that [Wilson] didn’t comply, but he clearly had his hands up at first. You need to describe way better what happened,” according to the suit.

When Antioch Police Department superiors became aware of the officers’ misdeeds, they helped them avoid discipline and accountability by concealing their actions in police reports, the suit alleges.

Smith, a Black transgender woman, encountered the officers after she allegedly stole a Maserati on Oct. 26, 2021. The incident can be seen in officer-worn body camera footage obtained by the Bay Area News Group.

Antioch police officers, including Wenger, surrounded Smith and the Maserati at an Antioch grocery store. Smith came out of the vehicle and faced the officers. Wenger can be heard saying to another officer, “You got the 40?” meaning the less-lethal launcher.

Smith stood by the vehicle with her hands up, and Wenger shot her in the chest with a 40mm less-lethal launcher. Antioch police officers are trained that the chest is a “potentially lethal” area to shoot someone with a 40mm less-lethal round, according to the suit.

When Smith begins to recoil in pain, the officers pin her to the ground and sic their police dog on her. The dog can be seen in the video tearing skin from her left arm.

Rombough collected photos of people he injured shooting the 40mm less-lethal launcher and told Antioch police officers he was collecting the launcher’s spent munitions to craft an American flag, using the munitions as stars and stripes, the suit alleges.

Similarly, Amiri shared photos of victims bitten by their K9, Purcy. After one such bite in 2019, Amiri texted, “I’m gonna take more gory pics. gory [sic] pics are for personal stuff. Cleaned up pics for the case,” followed by two laughing emojis.

In text messages, Amiri counted the number of consecutive dog bite photos he collected, which, according to the suit, amounted to 28.

KQED’s Juan Carlos Lara contributed to this report.