Former Antioch Police K9 Officer Faces Up To 30 Years In Prison

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA—A former Antioch police officer was recently convicted by a federal jury in Oakland of one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of falsification of records.

The jury's verdict came March 14 at the end of an eight-day trial for 33-year-old Morteza Amiri, a former K-9 handler with the Antioch Police Department.

The civil rights charges against Amiri were brought as part of an investigation into the Antioch and Pittsburgh police departments that resulted in multiple charges against 10 current and former officers and employees for crimes ranging from the use of excessive force to fraud.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Amiri deployed his K-9 to bite suspects even when it was not necessary and kept a running bite count that he celebrated with other officers.

Amiri took photos of the dog bites and shared them with other officers, stating in one text message that “gory pics are for personal stuff” and “cleaned up pics for the case.”

“Morteza Amiri violated the oath he swore to protect the people of Antioch," said Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick Robbins. "He flouted his duty as a police officer, misused his police dog, and inflicted unnecessary and excessive force against the victim. This appalling conduct erodes public trust in law enforcement. And it weakens law enforcement’s ability to carry out its primary mission of public safety. As today’s jury verdict makes clear, officers who put themselves above the law will be held accountable."

According to the evidence at trial, Amiri pulled over and stopped a bicyclist identified as A.A. on July 24, 2019, who, according to Amiri, did not have his bicycle light on. Amiri approached A.A., punched and took the victim to the ground, and then called for his K-9 to bite the victim. As a result, A.A. suffered injuries.

At the time, Amiri was accompanied by a police officer with a neighboring agency as a ridealong, and that officer assisted with the deployment of the K-9. Afterward, Amiri shared pictures of the victim’s wounds with other Antioch police officers. One officer responded, “Yeah buddy good boy,” referring to the K-9, and “Lol you bit [A.A.].” In response to a question from another officer about what cut the dog’s face, Amiri responded, “that’s a piece of the suspect’s flesh lol.”

Amiri later wrote to the officer who accompanied him on the ride-along: “you got to see [the K-9] in action lol,” and stated that detectives got the victim “a 45-day violation and we are gonna leave it at that so i don’t go to court for the bite. Easy,” referring to the victim going into custody for a parole/probation violation. Amiri then falsified a police report of the incident, stating that one of the reasons he deployed his K-9 was because he was alone when, instead, the ride-along police officer was with him at the time and helped Amiri deploy the K-9.

While the jury found Amiri guilty on the two aforementioned counts, jurors acquitted him of one count of conspiracy against rights and two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law.

"Today’s guilty verdict against Morteza Amiri sends a clear message: no one is above the law, especially those sworn to uphold it," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani. "Amiri’s actions betrayed the trust of the community and undermined the integrity of law enforcement. The FBI remains committed to holding accountable any officer who violates their oath and deprives citizens of their constitutional rights. The people of Antioch, and communities everywhere, deserve better.”

In a previous jury trial in August, Amiri was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.

Amiri's sentencing is set for June 3. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the count of deprivation of rights under color of law and 20 years in prison on the count of falsification of records.

The case is being prosecuted by the National Security & Special Prosecutions Section and the Oakland Branch of the United States Attorney’s Office. The prosecution was the result of an investigation by the FBI and the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

All 10 cases are being tried before Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White in Oakland.

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