ANTIOCH – In an effort to meet requirements in an agreement between the city and the US Department of Justice, two members of the Antioch Police Oversight Commission were added Tuesday to the oversight body.
The Antioch City Council voted unanimously to re-appoint Porshe Taylor, the former chair of the commission, to a three-year term ending in 2028. His previous term ended in November 2025. The council also approved the appointment of Josiah Ben-Oni Graham to fill a temporary vacancy that will expire in November.
Mayor Ron Bernal had proposed appointing Addison M. Peterson to fill the full three-year term that ends in November 2028, but that nomination was shelved as Peterson was absent during the meeting.
Councilor Tamisha Torres-Walker recommended that the council listen to each candidate before appointing.
“I mean, it’s up to the council, obviously, but I’d like to hear from each candidate before we make an appointment,” Torres-Walker said. “I just reject this, maybe we don’t appoint Mr. Addison tonight until he is the one who will come to the council and talk to the public about why he wants to be appointed to the commission, and what he thinks he can add.”
According to the city, if approved, Peterson will fill the seat held by Commissioner Joseph Mitchell, whose term expires in November 2025.
The seven-member commission plays a key role in overseeing police reforms required under a cooperative agreement between the city and the Department of Justice. The agreement requires at least five of the seven members to serve continuously for two years to ensure that the mandated changes are implemented.
This agreement was established following the scandals and allegations of criminal activity that have affected the Antioch Police Department.
The commission faced instability in 2025, following the resignation of two commissioners.
In February 2025, Leslie May resigned after alleged “contentious interactions” with city officials, leaving the commission with only four members.
Although the City Council later appointed three new commissioners, trouble erupted in August 2025 when the oversight commission proposed removing another member “for not missing a beat.”
The commission voted to remove Commissioner Treva Hadden by mistake at more than three meetings in the past twelve months without giving a reason.
Hadden then quickly tendered his resignation, citing “restrictions” that prevented him from fully devoting himself to physical activity. With Hadden’s departure, the commission was down to six members.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Bernal said Graham had been an intern in the city manager’s office and had done “an outstanding job.”
“I take him in the youth category, he is under 25 years old,” said Bernal. “One of the wishes of the City Council is that we will see more young people in commission positions and leadership.”
With a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from California State University, Sacramento, Graham said he has had “good encounters” with law enforcement but recognizes that others have had different experiences.
“I believe Antioch had an inflection point. I think we’re deciding what direction we want to go in the city and what kind of community we want to be,” Graham said. “I like to represent the youth, I believe that there should be nothing about us, without us, and I think we need a meaningful seat at the table.”
Taylor, founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization Prison From-The-Inside-Out, explained his desire to remain on the commission.
“We got a new manager, we got a new city manager, and our commission has had different people join and fall over that time,” Taylor said. “I think the city deserves to be settled, and it would be a mistake for me to leave when we get to the point where we are going to make the change that the city has requested.”
The Police Oversight Commission was first introduced by former Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe as one of several reforms proposed in 2021, following an FBI investigation involving the Antioch Police Department.
At that time, the City Council voted to appoint itself an interim oversight committee with the possibility of forming a citizen-led commission later. In 2022, a commission made up of residents was established.
In February 2024, the City Council appointed seven citizens to serve.
