Settlement reached in Antioch PD race discrimination investigation

ANTIOCH, Calif. (CN) — The Department of Justice on Friday announced an agreement with the Bay Area city of Antioch and its police department, resolving an investigation into racial discrimination and other discriminatory conduct by Antioch police officers.

The Department of Justice launched its probe after dozens of text messages containing racist and homophobic slurs and other discriminatory language from Antioch police officers between 2019 and 2022 were uncovered by the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s office as part of a larger investigation.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta also launched an investigation into Antioch’s police department in 2023.

The Department of Justice specifically investigated Antioch Police Department’s compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the nondiscrimination provisions of the Safe Streets Act. Title VI and the Safe Streets Act collectively prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex and religion by recipients of federal financial assistance like the Antioch police department.

In the uncovered texts, Antioch officers, sergeants and supervisors said they berated people because of their race, falsified evidence and brutalized Black and brown suspects.

The messages were sent by 17 named officers of the 99-person Antioch police force, including the president of the Antioch police union. The county public defender has said that while nearly half of the department was included in the text chains, nobody said anything to put a stop to the messages.

In one message, one officer promised a prime rib dinner to anyone who would shoot Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe, who is Black, with a rubber bullet.

“Fair and non-discriminatory policing is fundamental to effective law enforcement, especially for those agencies that receive federal funding,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “In working with the Justice Department to institute policing reform, Antioch Police Department sends a strong message that the discrimination and misconduct that prompted this investigation will not be tolerated."

“The agreement we have secured will ensure that Antioch’s policing practices are free from discrimination in the road ahead,” she added. “The community deserves nothing less.”

As part of the agreement, Antioch police must retain an expert law-enforcement consultant to review and update APD’s policies, procedures and training on a variety of topics, including non-discriminatory policing, use of force, hiring and promotions, investigations of misconduct, discipline, community policing, language access and other topics.

The agreement also contemplates a role for the Antioch Police Oversight Commission and sets forth a framework for data collection and reporting for a five-year period of departmental monitoring, among other provisions.

“Law enforcement is only effective when it inspires public confidence,” United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey said. “A police department that discriminates based on race and other protected classes undermines both public safety and public confidence. Today’s agreement will help ensure that policing in Antioch is done constitutionally and will help restore public trust.”

Four people who said they were targeted by Antioch police officers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in 2023. A fifth person joined the action on behalf of his father, who was shot and killed by officers Eric Rombaugh and Scott Duggar, two officers named in the text scandal.

“I’m only stopping them because they black. Fuck them. Kill each other,” read one text from Rombough, which was revealed by an investigative report.

In another text, Rombaugh told Sergeant Joshua Evans he was upset that a Black suspect he had beaten didn’t bruise up quickly enough.

“It never looks good on black guys,” Evans responded.

The Antioch Police Department did not respond to a request for comment on the agreement.