The city of Antioch, California, is being sued in federal court by a group of citizens who claim that the Antioch Police Department is infested with police who share racist jokes amongst each other and allow their bigotry to spill into how they police Black and brown people in the city.
The lawsuit relies heavily on an FBI and Contra Costa County District Attorney (CCCDA) report that identifies 17 APD officers who sent and/ or received racist text messages, including photographs of gorillas to reference Black people, in 2020 and 2022.
Officers also threw the N-word around in the messages obtained during the probe that sparked concerns in the community and the filing. There were also multiple texts calling Black people gorillas and monkeys.
“They all look alike,” said one officer in a text.
“I feel like I am at the zoo,” another replied.
While 17 officers are named as active participants, reports say 44 Antioch officers have gotten as least one message included in the investigation of the group.
Related: ‘Clearly a Murder Case’: A Previous DA Failed to Prosecute, Now Two California Cops Are Indicted for Shooting of Black Man Months After Texts Mocking His Death Were Exposed
Attorneys representing five Californians and the spokesperson for the estate of a deceased resident filed the federal complaint in the Northern District of California.
On Thursday, April 20, they spoke about the lawsuit at a press conference which alleges the officers “engaged in a repeated pattern and practice of civil rights violations and other misconduct,” specifically against Black residents.
“I’ve never seen the pervasive form of racial bigotry that was communicated amongst these officers as if it were a cup of coffee […] it made me cringe to think that these were the very people that were supposed to be serving the people of this community,” CNN reports attorney John Burris stated.
The investigation used in the lawsuit…
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