State Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, is seeking Gov. Gavin Newsom's help for Antioch's police force, which has been struggling to maintain public safety due to the department's low number of officers.
Along with state Assemblymember Tim Grayson, Glazer sent a letter to Newsom on Wednesday seeking assistance for more officers in the Antioch Police Department. Years of FBI and local investigations into the city's police have "decimated" their ranks, Glazer's office said in a statement Wednesday.
The state senator has also discussed the issue with California Highway Patrol Commissioner Sean Duryee.
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"The City of Antioch is struggling with public safety right now, and the CHP can help," Glazer said in a statement.
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe recently said in a podcast with Glazer that the city, which has a population of about 120,000 residents, has "about four or five officers at any given moment patrolling our streets."
According to the mayor, the response time of Antioch police can be excessively long since more than half of the city's 87 officers are on leave because of the investigations into the force.
"We can use the help because it would drastically reduce time in which an officer can respond to a crime," Thorpe said on the "Table Talk" podcast hosted by Glazer.
In early August, Antioch City Councilmember Mike Barbanica asked city officials to get more assistance from both the CHP and the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office due to staffing issues within Antioch police.
If Newsom grants Glazer's request, Antioch will be the third city this year to get help from the CHP, following San Francisco in May and Oakland in August.
