Antioch mayor blames racist texts on police department culture, calls for audit
Following a Contra Costa County judge’s release of the names of 17 Antioch police officers accused of making racist or homophobic texts, Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe has blamed the department’s culture and is calling for an independent audit.
“There are no words to express my profound disappointment given that one of the named officers serves as president of the Antioch Police Union,” the mayor said in a Facebook video statement on Saturday. “While Antioch has worked hard to become one of the Bay Area’s most racially diverse cities, this will undoubtedly leave an embarrassing stain on our community.”
Thorpe, a longtime police reform advocate, added that the “culture is the problem and has long been a huge legal and financial liability for the city, which is on full display today.”
He said the department’s culture requires further exploration and questioned how “all of this alleged misconduct could go on without anyone on the command staff noticing.”
The mayor then called for an independent audit of the city’s internal affairs process, specifically looking at all complaints within the last six to eight years – from the nature of complaints to their dispositions.
Thorpe also said he was seriously concerned about complaints that may not have been investigated and could now be outside of the statute of limitations and called for a complete review of that as well.
In addition, the mayor asked for an independent audit of the department’s hiring and promotions practices, “so that the Council can implement measures to better root out individuals with certain biases.”
The FBI — which is investigating alleged fraud, bribery, drug distribution and civil rights violations related to the use of force in the Antioch and Pittsburg police departments — found the messages from the Antioch officers after agents served search warrants on a number of officers’ homes and showed up at the police department to seize phones and other personal items.
The offensive messages violate department policy but are not criminal in nature. They date back to September 2019, and they continued until January 2022 when the phones were seized, Contra Costa County Judge Claire Maier said on Friday.
Antioch Chief Steve Ford, who did not respond to requests for comment, has placed all of the officers on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation. The chief announced last September that the department would be “exploring systems that will allow us to monitor department issued cell phones” and that they would be “used in a business capacity only,” though it’s unclear if any new policies have been crafted.
On Saturday, the mayor also called for a racial equity audit of the Antioch Police Department “to measure bias in enforcement efforts and ultimately pursue measures that would help eliminate racist policies, practices and behaviors.”
“We will hold anyone accountable that has allowed this culture to continue irrespective of how long you have been with this department, whether it’s a year or 20 years, and regardless of your rank,” he added.
Mayor Pro-Tem Tamisha Walker, meanwhile, released her own statement that same day on Facebook.
“We can no longer be bystanders and action must be taken to correct this culture of racism and anti-blackness in policing starting with Antioch,” she wrote.
While Torres-Walker admitted she has not seen the text messages, she said her fellow council members and community members “should take these miscarriages of justice seriously” but also acknowledged those Antioch officers not accused of any wrongdoing and “who work hard every day to provide non-bias policing service to our community.”
Staff writer Nate Gartrell contributed to this report.