OAKLAND — Morteza Amiri was angry.
He had been placed on Antioch police administrative leave with a pending criminal investigation, and now his employers had taken away Purcy, the K9 he affectionately referred to as his “fur missile” for an ability to bite suspects in a flash. Now, Amiri was calling acting police Chief Joseph Vigil on repeat, then showed up to the department to settle the issue, according to a declaration filed by Vigil this week, detailing the May 2023 confrontation.
The result? Vigil says he was “concerned” enough for his safety to stay holed up in his department until the soon-to-be ex-K9 officer left.
“Officers spoke with (Amiri), and then told me that I should not leave the building because Mr. Amiri was possibly armed and may hurt me. They advised me he was not thinking rationally and was extremely agitated,” Vigil wrote. “I was concerned for my own safety and the safety of others at the Antioch Police Department while Mr. Amiri was on the premises.”
Federal prosecutors have revealed the hostile standoff, which ended when Amiri simply left, in their bid to throw Amiri behind bars. He was convicted last week of using Purcy to bite a man who didn’t deserve it and falsifying reports to cover up the incident, but acquitted of three other serious charges, including conspiracy.
One conviction, for deprivation of rights, is considered a violent offense. Prosecutors argue that alone is enough under the law to justify jailing Amiri until he is sentenced in June, but they’ve revealed other 2023 incidents involving Amiri in an attempt to prove he has a history of “erratic” behavior since the 2022 criminal probe that resulted in his conviction.
Amiri’s lawyers have responded that Amiri’s convictions are “aberrational and an uncharacteristic deviation from an otherwise exemplary life,” and that if he’s jailed he could be subject to retaliation from inmates and staff. They say he has “strong” community ties, runs his own business, and is needed to support his family, including a loved one who developed a medical condition after the August 2023 FBI raid on his home.
“The persistent threat of violence (in jail), coupled with the isolating reality of protective custody or administrative segregation, which is a likely outcome given his background, can inflict profound psychological distress,” Amiri’s lawyers wrote in a motion.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White is set to rule on the motion Tuesday afternoon.
Amiri was one of 14 ex-East Contra Costa cops charged in 2023 with crimes that ranged from serious — conspiring to violate the rights of citizens — to the almost comical, like accepting a cheap bottle of tequila as an ultimately-career-ruining bribe from a liquor store owner who didn’t want to pay a traffic ticket. In federal court, all but one ex-Antioch officer — who maintains he was thrown in with the others after attempting to expose even more corruption at the department — has either been convicted or pleaded guilty.
The 2022-2023 criminal investigation, led by the FBI and Contra Costa District Attorney’s office, apparently impacted Amiri’s well-being.
Sworn declarations and emails filed by federal prosecutors say that in addition to the confrontation at the police department, Amiri “aggressively” drove up to two unmarked FBI cars and peered into their windows, prompting an agent to say she grew concerned Amiri “might open fire.” He also showed up to a Municipal Pooling Office in Walnut Creek and peered into windows, prompting workers to call police and circulate an email saying Amiri previous “left everyone feeling uneasy” and “appears to be unstable.”
Check back for updates