The Contra Costa County District Attorney on Tuesday filed charges against a former Antioch police officer in connection with a July 2022 traffic stop.
The city fired former Officer Matthew Nutt earlier this year for violating department use of force policies. On Wednesday, the department released body camera video of the traffic stop.
On July 1, 2022, Nutt pulled over a driver for not having license plates then determined the vehicle's passenger was wanted on a felony warrant, Antioch police said.
The video shows Nutt trying to take the man into custody, but the man appears to resist as police try to place him in the patrol car.
The man tells officers he's having a panic attack as Nutt pushes the man to the ground. The man lies on the ground for a moment then agrees to get into the car. But at the car door, he again refuses to get in, saying he’ll have a panic attack.
Nutt appears to knee the man in the stomach and punch him, all as the man repeatedly says, "I need medical."
Those actions led to an investigation prompted by Sergeant Josh Evans who is also one of the officers now at the center of the racist text messaging scandal.
Local
In the bodycam video, Evans seems surprised when Nutt tells him he used force to arrest the suspect.
Antioch police Chief Steven Ford released a statement Wednesday:
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
"Police officers are entrusted with the authority to use reasonable force to protect the public and themselves in the lawful performance of their duties. This requires close supervision and evaluation to maintain public legitimacy and preserve the sanctity of human life. 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 – please join me in continuing to offer support of their hard work."
Ford's review of the incident concluded that Nutt violated use-of-force policies using unreasonable force, failure to de-escalate and failure to use alternative tactics, according to police.
Antioch Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres Walker says she hopes the police chief will continue to hold officers more accountable, but says there’s still a lot of work to do and feels the DA’s charges don’t go far enough.
“The arraignment of this one officer isn’t a victory. The termination of this one officer, although it was the right thing to do, it took too long,” she said. "We can’t count it as a win.”
Nutt faces a charge of misdemeanor assault and an arraignment is set for July 18.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
