Antioch Police Department: Report Reveals Racist Messages Sent Among California Police Officers

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Editor’s note: (This story contains disturbing and offensive content.)

(CNN) Protesters gathered outside the police department in Antioch, Calif., on Tuesday after a report revealed racist text messages sent to some officers and members of the public.

The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office report named 17 Antioch Department police officers it says sent or received racist text messages in 2020 and 2021, including using the n-word and sharing photos of gorillas in reference to black people.

An exchange of text messages indicates that the n-word is “commonly used”, according to the report. The posts also show frequent discussions of the mistreatment of people while on patrol, according to the report. In a March 2021 exchange, an officer bragged to a civilian that he “kicked the basket” to the head of a detained person and “tried to knock him out”.

The partially redacted report, released in two parts late last month and released last week, is part of an investigation by the prosecutor’s office with the FBI “into crimes of moral turpitude and criminal offenses” among current and former officers, according to released documents. detailing what prompted the investigation.

CNN contacted 14 of the 17 officers named in the report for comment, but was unable to locate the other three.

City officials previously said nearly 20% of Antioch’s police force sent or received the offensive material in question, CNN affiliate KGO reported. But Contra Costa County public defender Ellen McDonnell told the outlet she estimates 40% of the 99 force members may have sent or received problematic messages.

In a statement to CNN, Antioch Police Chief Steven Ford said he condemned “the heinous racist content and incomprehensible behavior attributed to members of the Antioch Police Department in the media.”

“I have taken immediate steps to ensure that a thorough investigation by an independent external entity is carried out and that the community is not exposed to anyone implicated in this reporting,” he said. “On behalf of our organization, I apologize to the community of Antioch for the harm caused by this hate speech. I promise to hold accountable officers who express racist or bigoted beliefs, biased insensitivity, and those who brag about harming to members of the community.”

Tuesday’s protest was organized by five community groups calling on local leaders to fire and decertify officers involved in abusive behavior, prosecute all civil rights violations and conduct a full audit of the department’s internal affairs department. Antioch police, among others, according to a post on Facebook.

“It’s really disturbing to know that this is how they see the people of Antioch,” Jose Cordona, a protester, told KGO. “How could you ever treat a person humanely as a human if you don’t even see them as such?”

The protest in the Bay Area city, about 40 miles northeast of San Francisco, is one of many held in recent years as the country grapples with issues of racial bias and police brutality.

Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe and others attend a special city council meeting at City Hall on Tuesday. Detailed SMS in the report

Among the messages detailed in the report is one from February 24, 2020, in which an officer texted another officer, “No, they didn’t push it that far. A group of gorillas surrounding us and taunting a fight since we hooked up [redacted]. They were all [redacted] and did nothing. I wish they would.”

A post from May 27, 2020 shows an officer text, “See all the riots in LA?” to another, who replies no. “For the gorilla who died,” the first officer said, referring to the murder of George Floyd, according to the report.

An image sent by an Antioch police officer to a private citizen shows “a photograph depicting a tall, naked African-American man, with his penis exposed, sitting on George Floyd’s neck,” the report said. An image is included but is largely redacted.

The police department has launched a community feedback hotline for messages to be shared with Ford, its executive command staff and members of the Professional Standards Unit, a Facebook post from the department said. . Ford will also be hosting several community listening sessions, which will be announced in the near future, according to the post.

The investigation was opened under a new California law that prohibits law enforcement officers from performing this role if they commit certain misconduct.

“The bill prohibits a person from being employed as a peace officer if that person has been found guilty, or has been found in an administrative, military or civil court proceeding, to have committed a violation of certain specified crimes against public justice, including falsification of records, corruption or perjury,” the report said.

A county public defender asked the district attorney to dismiss all pending cases represented by public defenders involving the Antioch Police Department, release incarcerated clients of public defenders, and stop filing cases related to the ‘ODA because “the public simply cannot trust any criminal prosecution” involving the department.

“The extent of the hate and lawlessness that has recently been exposed within the ODA is unfathomable,” public defender Ellen McDonnell wrote last week. “To continue to prosecute the victims of targeted, violent and racist ODA policing while simultaneously protecting the officers’ identities and the extent of their misconduct and criminal activity is grossly unjust.”

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