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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 10, No. 39
City wins second Section 8 suit by Justin Lafferty Staff Writer
An Antioch landlord who sued the city, accusing police officers of racial discrimination against his Section 8 tenants, has withdrawn his claim, city attorney Lynn Tracy Nerland said on Wednesday. According to James Fitzgerald, an attorney representing Antioch, Riaz Patras filed a lawsuit in 2009, claiming that members of the Antioch Police Department’s Community Action Team harassed him for renting houses to people receiving financial aid, and tried to get him to evict his Section 8 tenants. Fitzgerald said that Patras’ attorney, Matt Kumin, withdrew his client’s lawsuit against
“ Conversations he said took place never happened. Officers he claimed threatened him were proven nowhere near his home or not even employed by the city. The city’s evidence has been undisputed.
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James Fitzgerald, attorney for Antioch the city after his claims were proven false. “As soon as Mr. Patras’ story was subjected to examination and the introduction of GPS evidence, it began to unravel,” Fitzgerald said in a press release. “Conversations he said took place never happened. Officers he claimed threatened him were proven nowhere near his home or not even employed by the city. The city’s evidence has
been undisputed.” Fitzgerald said Kumin offered to dismiss the case on Aug. 13 in exchange for the city reimbursing $5,300 of expenses Kumin’s firm incurred by taking on the case; no money went to Patras. Kumin was not available for comment. Fitzgerald said Patras claimed that between June and October of 2007, officers entered his house without a war-
rant, got physical with Patras and his family and pressured him to kick out his AfricanAmerican Section 8 tenants. Fitzgerald said that Patras and his family owned as many as 10 properties in Antioch that he rented to Section 8 tenants. “The city has a sophisticated record-keeping system that allows us to double check things like that,” Fitzgerald said. “We could actually go back and physically observe the activities of each of the police officer vehicles for each day in that time frame.” Kumin’s request to dismiss the case came one day before Patras’ wife, Maryam Patras, planned to give her disposition, Fitzgerald said. see Suit page 26A
First-responders honored by Knights by Justin Lafferty Staff Writer
Local public safety personnel were fêted on Saturday at the Knights of Columbus Awards Ceremony, including a secondgeneration Antioch police officer. Antioch police detective Jimmy Wisecarver Jr. earned the city’s Police Officer of the Year award, Officer Alex Edmon was named California Highway Patrol Officer of the Year and Contra Costa firefighter David Manzeck was honored as Firefighter of the Year. Antioch Police Chief Jim Hyde said that Wisecarver is one of the department’s “quiet performers,” noting that he leads by example. Wisecarver, 39, was a reserve officer for five years before becoming a full-time officer, a title he has held for 13 years. “People trust their lives to him,” Hyde said, “and we don’t do that to too many people.”
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Wisecarver Jr. has worn many hats with Antioch, starting out on patrol, later moving to the K-9 unit and the SWAT team, and now he works with narcotics investigations and fugitive apprehension. This is the second such award for Wisecarver, a second-generation Antioch police officer who first earned Officer of the Year honors in 2003. He said that he’s learned a lot from his friends and co-workers, and also his father, Jim Wisecarver Sr., who served with the Antioch PD for 33 years, followed by seven years as a community service officer before retiring in 2009. “My father has done this job a lot longer than I have, and I had the ability to work with my dad before he retired and I had a blast doing so,” the younger Wisecarver said. “I think that I’ve learned to have a strong work ethic, and in my opinion, you can have all the
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September 24, 2010
This Week Peace promoted
A wide array of religious and cultural traditions intertwined at Antioch’s International Day of Peace. Page 22A
Choose to re-use A citywide yard sale aims to lighten landfills and weigh down wallets. Page 16A
Clean slate to contemplate
Despite impressive back-toback league titles, the Deer Valley volleyball squad is taking nothing for granted. Page 1B
Plus:
Photo by Justin Lafferty
Antioch Police Officer of the Year Jimmy Wisecarver Jr., left, stands with CHP Officer of the Year Alex Edmon and John Manzeck, who accepted the Firefighter of the Year award for his son, David Manzeck, who was unable to attend the event. talent and skill in the world, but without a strong work ethic, you don’t have the ability to reach your goals.”
According to CHP Sgt. Joe Johnson, it’s rare for an officer see First Responders page 26A
Macro ministry
Oktoberfesting
Community chaplains take the work of the church beyond the sanctuary.
The Byron Delta Lions will bring Bavaria to East County in a seasonal bash.
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Business .............................25A Calendar ............................ 23B Classifieds ......................... 16B Cop Logs ............................19A Entertainment ................. 11B Health & Beauty ................ 8B Milestones ........................ 14B Opinion ..............................18A Sports ................................... 1B
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FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Show-offs
go to multimedia/videos The daring hot dogs at an air/water show delivered on flash and splash.