FILE – Antioch Police officers at a 2014 crime scene.
ANTIOCH — The eight Antioch police officers recently placed on leave by the city include investigators who texted each other racist remarks about Black men they were investigating for alleged gang crimes, prosecutors confirmed in open court Tuesday morning.
Now, this latest scandal could result in charges being dismissed against four men accused of conspiracy to commit murder for an East Oakland-based gang.
At a Tuesday morning court hearing for four alleged members of the ENT gang, Contra Costa Assistant District Attorney Simon O’Connell said he would soon disclose texts containing explicit racism by Antioch police investigators that specifically referenced the defendants. But whether the disclosures will be made under a court protective order is not yet determined.
O’Connell showed up to court with packets of paper approximately two inches thick and apparently containing text messages in which racist and other problematic language was used by officers. He told a Contra Costa judge the messages were discovered through an ongoing FBI and Contra Costa DA investigation into eight other Antioch officers for alleged crimes that include civil rights violations, fraud, bribery, and involvement in drugs.
The criminal investigation — which has resulted in a grand jury hearing to consider indicting at least a dozen current and former Antioch and Pittsburg officers — has already led to dozens of charges being dismissed in both federal and state court. But those dismissals came about because prosecutors could determine they could no longer rely on the testimony of impugned arresting officers.
These latest revelations, by contrast, contained “unambiguous racial animus” directed specifically at Black men who were later charged with crimes, O’Connell said in court Tuesday.
The four defendants, Terryonn Pugh, 22, Eric Windom, 23, Keyshawn McGee, 24, and Trent Allen, 22, were charged in August 2021 with conspiracy to murder multiple gang rivals, as well as two counts of attempted murder, in connection with a March 9, 2021 shooting in Antioch. Three other alleged gang members were charged on a separate docket with murder, as part of the same investigation into a gang rivalry that spanned from Oakland to Antioch.
Even before the revelations about racist text messages, the defense team had already filed motions to dismiss charges against the four under the Racial Justice Act, arguing there was evidence of disparate treatment of Black men in the criminal justice system. With final arguments in those motions scheduled for April 12, the defense will now have time to beef up their motions with the text message disclosures.
“If there are racial overtones…clearly the defense should be able to use it,” Araceli Ramirez, a lawyer standing in for McGee’s attorney, said in court Tuesday. “I think this goes to the heart of (police) credibility.”
The eight officers on leave for alleged racism join seven others who remain on leave due to the FBI investigation — plus others who resigned after learning of the criminal investigation — that have left a major gap in the Antioch police department’s ranks. It is unclear how their absence will affect the department and whether it will need to ask for assistance from outside agencies. The officers include patrol cops, SWAT team members and detectives, multiple officials with firsthand knowledge have told this newspaper.
Antioch police Chief Steven Ford posted a response to the allegations last week, which he called “a very unfortunate situation” and urged that the officers be afforded their “due process” and “not tried in the court of public opinion.”
“Important to note, as an organization we always strive to be of service and engage in fair and impartial policing practices,” Ford wrote.
And while the chief noted the department plans to “partner with a host of internal and external community-based resources to anchor a city-wide approach to public safety,” he did not address whether the city would need to ask for outside assist due to the additional officers on leave.
Meanwhile the Antioch Police Officers Association’s attorney, Mike Rains, said the investigation into the officers was not criminal in nature but rather a “confidential personnel matter” and chided Mayor Lamar Thorpe for holding a news conference last week to announce additional officers were on leave.
Councilman Mike Barbanica, a retired Pittsburg police officer, meanwhile addressed the controversy in a YouTube video, saying he was “very concerned about staffing levels” and acknowledged that the city “cannot continue to run a 24-7 operation where we are constantly being depleted.”
“My concern is the future and safety of the city,” he said, noting that he thinks the city will need to look for assistance from allied agencies. “There are plenty of agencies in the area that can lend a hand.”
On Monday, Mayor Pro-Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker called out past city councils for not insisting on accountability within the police department, which she said lacked judicial oversight. Torres-Walker noted there have been many complaints over the years of racism and brutality in the Antioch Police Department but people have been “willing to overlook crimes that law enforcement commit.”
Originally published at Nate Gartrell, Judith Prieve