California police force whose officers shared racist texts agrees to reform deal

By The Guardian Staff

Officers in Antioch near San Francisco sent racist and sexist messages and boasted about fabricating evidence

A San Francisco Bay area police department mired in scandal over racist and sexist texts implicating dozens of officers has agreed to reforms and five years of outside monitoring, the US Department of Justice announced.

According to the agreement made public on Friday, the Antioch police department and the city of Antioch will select an expert law enforcement consultant approved by the justice department to review and update its practices on nondiscriminatory policing, use of force, hiring and promotions and discipline, among other topics, over a five-year period.

“Law enforcement is only effective when it inspires public confidence,” said Ismail J Ramsey, US attorney for the northern district of California.

The text messages, swapped among members of the Antioch police department between 2019 and 2022, surfaced in 2023 as part of a federal investigation of the department.

The incendiary text messages, which were heavily redacted, contained derogatory, racist, homophobic and sexually explicit language. Officers bragged about making up evidence and beating up suspects. They referred to women as water buffalo, shared photos of gorillas and freely used racial slurs.

“The actions that led to this investigation were unacceptable and represent significant failures,” the city of Antioch said in a press statement issued on Friday. “Our commitment to creating a transparent, accountable, and community-focused police department remains steadfast.”

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Conversations included in prosecutors’ indictments included an exchange between two officers, in which one texted, “Yeah buddy we gonna fuck some people up,” and another responded, “Exactly! blood for blood.” One officer also sent photos of eight victims’ injuries with laughing emojis, and wrote, “a very eventful work week”.

The justice department agreement outlines reporting requirements for K9 bites, which come after one officer was indicted for civil rights violations surrounding the use of his police dog.

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Police reform like this has only really happened in the wake of the Blake Lives Matter movement.

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