Antioch

Fallout Continues From Alleged Antioch Police Racist Texts

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Alleged racist and offensive text messages sent by Antioch police fueled tempers and boiled emotions at Tuesday's city council meeting.

The heated and at times chaotic meeting prompted Mayor Lamar Thorpe, overcome with emotion, to briefly leave the session.

"There are going to be some changes," Thorpe said. "Some of those changes may make people feel uncomfortable - I don't give a damn. It's going to happen, it's the right thing to do."

Thorpe said he supports police Chief Steven Ford's decision to hire an external investigator. The alleged text messages were uncovered as part of an FBI investigation into other possible crimes by police.

Thousands of past and current criminal cases could be impacted or overturned as a result of alleged racist text messages sent by Antioch police, according to the Contra Costa County public defender. Jodi Hernandez reports.

For now, the chief said any officers involved are not working on the streets. Ford said the exact number of officers under investigation have not been determined.

"This is unfortunate. Let's not gloat in this," Ford said. "This is very, very unfortunate to the city, to this organization, this profession."

Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe responded Saturday after a judge released the names of 17 police officers accused of using racist language.
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