California city audits police who sent racist, abusive texts

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April 20, 2023

Terry Chea and Janie Har, Associated Press

Kiora Hansen and Della Currie, from left, protest during a rally at Antioch police headquarters in Antioch, Calif., on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Photo Credit – Jane Tyska

A San Francisco Bay Area city council is undertaking an audit of its troubled police department, the latest development in a year-long federal investigation of the Antioch Police Department that blew up this month with the disclosure of racist and hostile text messages sent by officers.

[…]

The incendiary text messages, which were heavily redacted, contain derogatory, racist, homophobic and sexually explicit language. Officers brag about making up evidence and beating up suspects. They refer to women as water buffalo, share photos of gorillas, freely use racial slurs and make light of the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.

In September 2020, two officers agreed by text to write a large number of traffic citations by targeting a specific group in a specific area. A male officer referred to Black people by a racist slur and said authorities should make them “eat s—.” A female officer responded, “Yes that will be easy. And it will be a good time lol start off quick with the numbers.”

Continue reading on the text message details here.

Alongside hate speech, hate crime is still prevalent today.

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