A San Francisco Bay area police department mired in scandal over racist and sexist texts implicating dozens of officers has agreed to reforms and five years of outside monitoring, the US Department of Justice announced.
According to the agreement made public on Friday, the Antioch police department and the city of Antioch will select an expert law enforcement consultant approved by the justice department to review and update its practices on nondiscriminatory policing, use of force, hiring and promotions and discipline, among other topics, over a five-year period.
“Law enforcement is only effective when it inspires public confidence,” said Ismail J Ramsey, US attorney for the northern district of California.
The text messages, swapped among members of the Antioch police department between 2019 and 2022, surfaced in 2023 as part of a federal investigation of the department.