DOJ Enters Agreement with California Police Department Following Allegations of Discrimination
The Antioch Police Department has consented to engage a specialized consultant tasked with overseeing future policies and training initiatives.
This settlement brings to a close a nearly two-year investigation into purported civil rights abuses by certain officers within the Antioch Police Department.
Federal authorities initiated a probe into the conduct of officers in Antioch, situated roughly 45 miles northeast of San Francisco, in June 2023.
The DOJ was allegedly alerted in April 2023 by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office regarding the presence of purported racist and sexist slurs, possible civil rights violations, and other troubling content found in some officers’ text messages.
These messages were reportedly exchanged between September 2019 and January 2022, according to federal prosecutors.
The focus of the investigation was the Antioch Police Department’s adherence to the federal Civil Rights Act as well as other federal statutes.
Related Stories
The city is responsible for covering the consultant’s costs, which will not exceed $250,000 annually.
The consultant is tasked with reviewing and refining the police department’s policies, procedures, and training on a diverse array of subjects, such as non-discriminatory law enforcement, use of force, hiring practices, promotion procedures, investigations of misconduct, disciplinary actions, community policing initiatives, language access, and other relevant topics.
Additionally, the consultant is expected to present an in-person report to the Antioch City Council at least every 180 days, assisting with all aspects of compliance with the agreement.
According to the agreement, the Antioch Police Department has also committed to ensuring that police services are provided “in a manner that is fair, respectful, void of unlawful discrimination, and that encourages widespread community engagement and trust in [the department].”
The police department also pledged to conduct training for both new recruits and experienced officers on racial profiling, various types of bias, selective enforcement and non-enforcement, cultural sensitivity, sound decision-making in use of force situations including de-escalation techniques, and other non-discriminatory policing subjects.
Moreover, the department assured that all members of the community would receive equal protection under the law without discriminatory policing, in accordance with the U.S. Constitution and federal laws.
“Equitable and non-discriminatory policing is essential for effective law enforcement, particularly for those agencies that receive federal funding,” stated Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on January 3rd.
Civil Rights Indictment
A federal grand jury in San Francisco issued four indictments in August 2023, charging ten current and former officers and employees—three from Antioch and seven from the nearby Pittsburg Police Department—with various offenses ranging from excessive force to fraud.
Antioch officers faced charges for civil rights violations linked to their alleged conspiracy to employ excessive force through the deployment of munitions and the use of a police K-9.
A 29-page indictment detailed how the defendants purportedly coordinated with each other and others about their intentions to utilize and enact excessive force against individuals within and around the city.
The excessive force cited by the officers involved the use of a K-9—for police dog—and the firing of a “less lethal” launcher to projectiles at suspects, among other unwarranted applications of force, according to federal prosecutors.
The indictment further claimed that the defendants used force as a form of punishment beyond what would be deemed appropriate according to the criminal justice system.
In one instance on July 24, 2019, an Antioch officer reportedly stopped a bicyclist for not having lights during nighttime. During this encounter, the officer is accused of striking the bicyclist multiple times before allowing a police dog to bite the victim’s arm, as stated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
It was alleged that the officer later shared images of the inflicted wounds with fellow Antioch police officers, who then exchanged messages concerning the incident.
