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The Department of Justice has reached an agreement with the Antioch, California police department, where officers allegedly exchanged racist text messages.
The Antioch Police Department initially came under fire in 2023 following a report by the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office, which accused several officers of sending and receiving text messages featuring the n-word and using pictures of gorillas to reference Black people. The report also included messages that showed officers repeatedly discussing abusing people while on patrol.
Three Antioch officers were charged with federal civil rights violations over their alleged use of excessive force and for allegedly taking footage of the force and bragging about it with other law enforcement officials.
The 2023 report prompted the Justice Department to launch its own investigation into Antioch police. According to CNN, the DOJ recently reached an agreement with the department, which is set to "hire a consultant to review and update its policies, procedures, and training on non-discriminatory policing and use of force, among other topics."
The agreement also "outlines commitments by the police department to ensure fair, non-discriminatory policing, as well as systems to report and investigate misconduct," per CNN.
“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 statement.
“The agreement we have secured will ensure that Antioch’s policing practices are free from discrimination in the road ahead – the community deserves nothing less," Clarke added.
The Antioch Police Department said in a statement that the “actions that led to this investigation were unacceptable and represent significant failures." The department added that it's “fully committed to ensuring that such incidents never happen again.”
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