ANTIOCH — As a grand jury continues to weigh potential criminal charges against at least eight Antioch police officers, an additional eight cops have been placed on leave for allegedly sending offensive text messages to each other, this news organization has learned.
The officers, who have not been publicly named, were placed on leave this week for violating department policies by texting or receiving racist and homophobic messages, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The revelations are not criminal in nature but surfaced during the FBI’s investigation of other Antioch police officers suspected of a range of alleged crimes.
Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe is expected to announce the personnel changes at a news conference set for 11 a.m. Thursday.
The move comes as Antioch continues to grapple with police staffing levels, resulting in a controversy over lengthy response time to crimes including commercial burglaries.
The eight officers on leave as part of the FBI probe represent 10 percent of the police force, APD has said. Losing another eight officers from patrol complicates the department’s staffing woes and could further cripple APD’s ability to respond to calls. As of earlier this month, Antioch had 43 patrol officers, including those on leave for medical issues and the ones out as part of the FBI investigation.
More than a dozen current and former Antioch and Pittsburg officers, including at least eight from Antioch, are under investigation for crimes including potential civil rights violations, involving police violence and dog bites, as well as alleged schemes to obtain bump pay through college degree fraud, accepting bribes to make traffic tickets go away, eliciting false confessions, and drug use and sales.
In early 2022, the FBI served search warrants at a number of Antioch officers’ homes and seized their cellphones. After searching through the phones, they discovered more evidence of potential crimes, as well as text messages with racist and homophobic remarks, according to multiple law enforcement sources.
A grand jury convened last year to weigh potential criminal charges, but has not arrived at a final decision.
Check back for updates.
Source: www.mercurynews.com