YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 19, No. 22
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May 31, 2019
Freedom High names top students
Daisies Plant STEM Supplies
by Aly Brown Correspondent
Before summer heat waves lure students everywhere to beaches and pools, this year’s graduating class will send off its brightest stars with the highest recognitions. For Oakley’s Freedom High School, those bright stars for the graduating class of 2019 are Zachary Pakin and Audrey Carandang, who were named valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively. With a cumulative GPA of 4.42, Zachary has had an active academic tenure, but he has also been an active community member. Throughout his student career, he was involved with local clubs such as STEM, communications, computer science and the Italian Club. He served as the assistant director of the East Bay Saxophone Project, a local nonprofit that provides free, group saxophone lessons to students in fourth to 12th grades. He was a traveler and ambassador for Global Glimpse, an international leadership and volunteer organization, as well as Veterans of Foreign Wars and The
Girl Scout Daisy troop donates $300 of materials to library for STEM science program. Page 5
Honoring Our Local Heroes PAKIN
CARANDANG
Urban Farmers — racking up hundreds of community service hours across the various organizations. “I feel overjoyed and honored to have been named as the valedictorian of Free-
dom,” said Zachary. “I credit my success to my mother, as she has always supported my crazy academic endeavors throughout my see Students page 26
Brentwood officer files assault suit by Kyle Szymanski Staff Writer
A veteran Brentwood police officer has filed a lawsuit alleging that her supervisor sexually assaulted her at a workrelated, out-of-state training conference in 2017, and then pressured her to lie during what she is claiming was a mishandled Brentwood Police Department investigation designed to cover up the alleged incidents. The alleged victim, a 17year member of the force whose identity will not be revealed per the policy of this newspaper, claims that now-retired Brentwood Police Lt. Sal DiMercurio forced her to engage in sex acts in his hotel room. The accuser alleges that the attack followed an assault the pre-
“ When I came forward about sexual harassment and assault by my supervisor, I was intimidated to keep quiet and my supervisor was not held accountable.
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Lawsuit plaintiff vious evening that she was able to deflect. The suit alleges that DiMercurio persuaded the accuser to lie about the events during a Brentwood Police Department review, and that a fellow senior police department official asked her a series of “yes or no” questions designed to confirm DiMercurio’s account that “there had been no sexual intercourse and any contact
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was consensual.” Now-retired Brentwood Police Captain Ben Tolero, conducted the review, and is mentioned in the suit as having closed the investigation without determination of any violations. While the accuser admitted she supported DiMercurio’s version of the events, the complaint asserts that she did so out of fear of retaliation. The accuser, who has been
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on medical leave since February 2018 and unpaid leave since July 2018, served as a negotiator on the department’s Crisis Negotiation Team, which DiMercurio commanded. DiMercurio, who retired Feb. 9, days after the suit was filed, had a previous history of workplace sexual harassment and misconduct, according to the suit. The accuser is seeking unspecified damages. “For 17 years, I was a police officer dedicated to protecting the safety of the citizens of Brentwood,” the accuser said in a statement provided by her attorney, Jayme Walker. “When I came forward about sexual harassment and assault by my susee Suit page 26
Air Climb
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American Lung Association’s annual event set for June 1.
Annual banner display at Veterans Park in Brentwood honors those who have served. Page 4
Going Down Swinging
Heritage baseball, softball teams fall in NCS championship finals. Page 16 Calendar................................27 Classifieds.............................20 Cop Logs................................25 Entertainment.......................6 Food..........................................7 Health & Beauty..................12 Opinion..................................13 Sports.....................................16
Cannabis Tax
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State’s cannabis tax generated $61.4 million in revenue for 1st quarter in 2019.