The officers used the N-word, shared racist memes referring to Black people, and talked specifically about Black men they were investigating, potentially damaging active criminal cases.
In a move that deepened the scandals engulfing the Antioch police department, a Contra Costa County judge on Friday released the names of 17 city police officers accused of using racist slurs, jokes and memes in text messages over a period of more than two years.
Among the officers Maier named was Rick Hoffman, the president of the Antioch Police Association, who has been a frequent critic of Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe, a police reform advocate. Hoffman was among the officers placed on leave over the texts, according to multiple Antioch law enforcement officials.
The first offensive messages date to September 2019, and they continued until January 2022, when the phones were seized, Maier said. The defense attorneys in the ENT case are now expected to file motions to dismiss charges under the Racial Justice Act, arguing that their clients, who are all Black men, were investigated by racist cops who were out to get them.
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