ANTIOCH, Calif. (KGO) -- Newly obtained police reports document use of force incidents by Antioch Police, in which senior-level officers signed off on what a federal indictment later deemed to be "excessive."

"You shouldn't feel like the police are a gang. I mean, we are supposed to be afraid of street gangs, but are afraid of the police. It makes no sense," said Nicole Arrington, a community organizer with the Alliance of Californians for Community Engagement, or ACCE.

ANTIOCH, CA — Multiple community organizers are calling for the city’s acting police chief and the president of its police officers’ union to step down amid revelations that they and other police supervisors signed off on the use of force by police officers who are now charged with federal civil rights violations.

The latest demands for the Antioch Police Department to clean house follow a Bay Area News Group report that found acting police Chief Joseph Vigil, Sgt. Rick Hoffman — the president of the Antioch Police Officers Association — and others concluded time and again that the actions of the charged officers followed department guidelines and deserved no discipline. The FBI, in a criminal indictment of three officers, found that some of the uses of force violated departmental policies — as well as people’s civil rights.

SAN PABLO, CA - The city of San Pablo is forging ahead on a plan to build a $43 million headquarters and training facility for its police department of 59 officers as residents call for the city to address housing affordability.

Despite the massive scale of the project — costing almost as much as the city expects to bring in this fiscal year — it has drawn little public input, raising questions about the level of civic engagement in the lower-income, majority Latino city of 31,000 people.

ANTIOCH, CA - As inflation last year reached its highest level in 40 years, raising consumer prices on food, gas and even used cars, renters in San Pablo say they’ve felt the squeeze because of a lack of rent control in the city.

This week, they asked the City Council to take up their cause. With hand-painted signs reading “Housing is a human right,” more than 30 people, including families, marched outside City Hall on Monday. Gathering shortly before the council meeting convened inside, they chanted: “La renta, la renta, está muy alta, La renta, la renta, está muy alta!” and “What do we want? Affordable rents. When do we want it? Now!”

CALIFORNIA - Earlier this month, California passed a bill requiring the state to produce a study and recommendations on expanding the state’s social housing sector. Organizers hope it will be the first step in providing de-commodified shelter on a large scale.

SACRAMENTO, CA - Jovana Fajardo helms the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) Action Sacramento division. The grassroots nonprofit is active on many fronts advocating for solutions to the housing crisis.

With chapters statewide, its members actively pursue policies and initiatives that advance economic, racial and social justice for underserved Californians. Fajardo began her political career in immigration reform. From there, she gravitated to affordable housing activism and is now the division’s lead organizer.

Solving Sacramento recently spoke with Fajardo to get her thoughts on the housing crisis and how she sees the role of grassroots community organizations as part of the solution. The interview was conducted by phone and email.

SAN PABLO, CA - The Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action on Saturday urged San Pablo renters affected by rising rents, and Contra Costa-ACCE members and representatives to make their voice heard at the San Pablo City Council this Monday.

The renters have previously called upon the San Pablo City Council to pass a Rent Control Ordinance, during the “March for Rent Control” rally on Sept. 30, bringing out more than 50 supporters. The march coincided with downtown Los Angeles’ “Wages Are Too Damn Low, Rents Are Too Damn High” mass protest, which brought out hundreds.

SACRAMENTO, CA - When local Sacramento government officials hold public hearings over climate change plans, dozens of residents often show up and share their perspectives.

It isn’t a coincidence that many speakers start public comments by introducing themselves as members or volunteers with activist organizations.

Groups rally people to speak at meetings through a variety of strategies, from building relationships over time to making social media posts. But whether they ask volunteers to comment on environmental, housing or other issues, organizers say they have similar goals: to empower people to participate in local government, share personal testimonies with decision-makers and build movements.