Alleged racist and offensive text messages sent by Antioch police fueled tempers and boiled emotions at Tuesday's city council meeting.
The heated and at times chaotic meeting prompted Mayor Lamar Thorpe, overcome with emotion, to briefly leave the session.
"There are going to be some changes," Thorpe said. "Some of those changes may make people feel uncomfortable - I don't give a damn. It's going to happen, it's the right thing to do."
Thorpe said he supports police Chief Steven Ford's decision to hire an external investigator. The alleged text messages were uncovered as part of an FBI investigation into other possible crimes by police.
For now, the chief said any officers involved are not working on the streets. Ford said the exact number of officers under investigation have not been determined.
"This is unfortunate. Let's not gloat in this," Ford said. "This is very, very unfortunate to the city, to this organization, this profession."
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. >Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
