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

The US Justice Department has entered an agreement with the Antioch, California, police department, which will end an investigation into racist text messages sent and received by its officers.

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.