DOJ enters agreement with California police department whose officers allegedly exchanged racist messages

By Dakin Andone, CNN

(CNN) — The US Justice Department has reached an agreement with the Antioch, California, police department, resolving an investigation into racist text messages allegedly sent and received by some of its officers.

Under the agreement, the department will hire a consultant to review and update its policies, procedures and training on non-discriminatory policing and use of force, among other topics, the Justice Department said in a news release Friday. It also outlines commitments by the police department to ensure fair, non-discriminatory policing, as well as systems to report and investigate misconduct.

The announcement follows a 2023 report by the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, which named a raft of Antioch officers who allegedly sent or received racist text messages, including the use of the n-word and sharing pictures of gorillas in reference to Black people.

The texting scandal sparked outrage and protests in the community, about 40 miles northeast of San Francisco.

The Justice Department began its own investigation after the disclosure of the texts, it said in its news release. The police department and the City of Antioch cooperated in reaching the agreement, which will last for five years.

“In working with the Justice Department to institute policing reform, Antioch Police Department sends a strong message that the discrimination and misconduct that prompted this investigation will not be tolerated,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said in a news release.

“The agreement we have secured,” Clarke added, “will ensure that Antioch’s policing practices are free from discrimination in the road ahead – the community deserves nothing less.”

The Antioch Police Department said in a statement Friday the “actions that led to this investigation were unacceptable and represent significant failures,” adding it was “fully committed to ensuring that such incidents never happen again.”

The agreement, it said, underscored the department’s dedication to “fostering trust, transparency, and accountability within our Police Department.”

“We acknowledge that trust is earned, not given, and this agreement marks a meaningful step forward,” the statement said.

In addition to the racist alleged texts, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s report – an investigation conducted with the FBI – also included messages that showed frequent discussion about abusing people while on patrol. In one March 2021 exchange, an officer bragged to a civilian that he had “field goal kicked” the head of a person in custody and “tried to knock him unconscious.”

Three Antioch officers were also charged with federal civil rights violations under an indictment that accused them of using excessive force – particularly through dog bites and a 40mm less lethal launcher, which fires projectiles – taking pictures and videos for personal use and bragging about their actions to each other or other officers.

The trial for those officers is scheduled to begin in February, federal court records show – though one of the officers has already been convicted of conspiracy and wire fraud in a related case.

CNN’s Taylor Romine contributed to this report.

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