Photo credit: Shutterstock.com / ArtOlympic
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a full-scale investigation into the entire police force in Antioch, California, which had been sharing “very disturbing” racist text messages and said on multiple occasions they want the Black mayor assassinated.
Antioch is a small town located in an area known as the East Bay, about 30 miles northeast of Oakland. Its police force is swarming with White racist police officers who have spent years on a private text group calling Black residents the N-word, as well as “monkeys,” “gorillas,” and have openly used disparaging terms in front of superiors without fear of reprisals. In these texts, the officers happily admit to police brutality, relishing the times they pulled Black motorists over for no reason other than their race, and fabricating confessions, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
And this is just the beginning:
“I’ll bury that n—-r in my fields,” Antioch Sgt. Joshua Evans reportedly texted officer Morteza Amiri in December 2020.
Amiri texted officer Eric Rombough In February 2020: “Nshowingo they didn’t push it that far. Bunch of gorillas surrounding us and taunting a fight since we were hooking [epithet].”
“Since we don’t have video I sometimes just say people gave me a full confession when they didn’t. Gets filed easier,” Amiri texted an officer in nearby Brentwood in April 2020.
In March 2021, when Antioch officers raided the residence of 22-year-old Terryonn Pugh and Trent Allen, officer Rombough texted detective Robert Gerber: “Bro I can’t wait to forty all of them,” referring to using the caliber of sponge rounds officers use during a raid.
After that raid, Rombough allegedly messaged another officer, “Bro, my foot hurts.” The officer asked if it was because he’d kicked one of the men, and Rombough replied, “Yup, like a f—–g field goal,” before adding, “Gotta stop kicking n—–s in their head.”
— For years, Antioch officers routinely used private text messaging groups to flaunt their racist views, spouting slurs in front of superiors without fear of reprisal. Inside the Antioch police department’s secret racist texting group https://t.co/xeUYpd2XFm
— Kenny Akers (@KeneAkers) April 13, 2023
One-fourth of the police force, 17, reportedly were part of this group chat inside the Antioch Police Department. They were relieved of duty on April 12, 2023, pending the outcome of an investigation by the FBI and the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.
20% of the Antioch, California police department has been placed on leave following an investigation into racist text messages between police officers. One offered a steak dinner to whoever shot a non-lethal projectile at the mayor during the BLM protests. https://t.co/9kcnDlzCL4
— Deb WARRIOR WOMAN Farmer 🇺🇸 (@realdebfarmer) April 15, 2023
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe, who is the CEO of a town that is 25 percent Black, told CBS News that “I’m blown away that there were threats to my personal life in those text messages.”
The FBI is also going to probe the adjacent city of Pittsburg, which is being accused of widespread criminality, including violating citizens’ civil rights, dealing drugs like cocaine and steroids, intentionally using excessive force, and accepting bribes.
Contra Costa DA: no one in office leaked second redacted report on Antioch Officers’ racist texts
Won’t say who sent the report or to whom; issues further redacted second reporthttps://t.co/6hxBQ6Ws26 pic.twitter.com/1HUxonIHkK
— Contra Costa Herald (@cocoherald) April 17, 2023
