SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A series of racist text messages exchanged within the Antioch Police Department has prompted an outcry throughout the city.
At Tuesday night's city council meeting, outrage dominated the agenda.
"Our children are scared! How are we supposed to be able to trust the police, to call the police when we have issues," an upset community member asked.
The East Bay Times published a handful of the racist text messages and memes shared by more than a dozen police officers over two years. The messages were initially revealed during an investigation by the FBI and the Contra Costa County District Attorney into fraud, bribery and civil rights violations in the department.
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe was visibly shaken as he addressed the city.
"I was triggered," he told KCBS Radio. "I remember we get up for the pledge of allegiance and at the end we say justice for all, I just yelled out 'someday.' And I did it because I was just in such a — you just get this feeling in your stomach, in your heart."
Thorpe was the target of some of the messages, including one offering a "prime rib dinner" for an officer who shoots the mayor with a less than lethal projectile.
"We are ultimately accountable for the police department. We're going to run some of these investigations," Thorpe stated. "We've done it their way for years and look where we're at today, so right now I'm just not feeling too trusting of their processes."
In Tuesday night's meeting, the city council authorized a change in command flow where the police chief would report to the city council instead of the city manager. The decision is not yet final, there is a 30 day wait before the ordinance goes into effect, but the hope is that this will provide more accountability moving forward.
Mayor Thorpe said he also plans on calling a special meeting for next Tuesday where city officials will talk more about the investigation and internal affairs and how to handle an audit of the division.
The Contra Costa County Public Defender has called for a review of cases where the police officers who sent the racist texts were involved.
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