Activists in Contra Costa County are speaking out amid the ongoing racist and homophobic text scandal that rocked the Antioch Police Department. Nathalie Vera reports.
Activists in Contra Costa County are speaking out amid the ongoing racist and homophobic text scandal that rocked the Antioch Police Department.
Some community members are worried that some of the officers involved in the scandal are reportedly being reinstated.
It's been 10 years since Kathryn Wade said she saw Antioch police officers beat her son, Malad Baldwin outside their home.
“And he beat him up about four to five whacks and Malad screamed, blood went out his face,” she said.
On Sunday afternoon, demonstrators rallied outside the Antioch Police Department, calling for justice in Baldwin's name, who died by suicide in 2021. His family blames the police department for his trauma.
“My son became mentally ill after that. He wanted to be a correctional officer and he was gonna take his test to be a correctional officer," Wade said.
Baldwin was one of the people named in the ongoing racist texts scandal involving about half of the department's officers.
The messages came to light during an investigation by the FBI and Contra Costa County DA's Office after allegations of misconduct.
Community members said they are worried about the police officers involved in the racist text scandal, possibly returning to patrol the streets of Antioch.
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“The police department has not chosen to be transparent about this and so, we don’t know which officers have been reinstated and which officers have been rewarded for their misconduct with a years-long paid vacation,” said defense attorney Carmela Caramagno.
NBC Bay Area reached out to Antioch police for comment Sunday night but did not hear back.
In the meantime, activists said they don’t feel safe knowing the racist and homophobic sentiments some officers have expressed.
