The U.S. Justice Department has released Antioch’s Police Department from supervision, its chief said, after a racist text message scandal.
Chief Joe Vigil said federal officials determined the city and department was in “substantial compliance” with requirements of a 2025 memorandum of agreement pledging constitutional, bias-free and community-oriented policing.
“Throughout this process, we’ve strengthened our policies and training, enhanced accountability and misconduct investigations, improved safeguards against biased policing and expanded our community engagement efforts,” Vigil said in a video on social media.
Prior to the agreement, the police force was mired in controversy involving dozens of discriminatory text messages that circulated among Antioch police officers between September 2019 and January 2022.
The misconduct scandal prompted federal, state and county investigations into alleged improper use of weapons and a police dog on suspects, civil rights violations, falsifying records, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, turning off body cameras, selling steroids, and paying individuals to take college classes for officers.
A civil rights lawsuit against the city of Antioch was resolved with a $4.6 million settlement that also included reforms of the department.
A federal civil rights suit filed in 2000 against the Oakland Police Department that became known as the “Riders” scandal led to a negotiated settlement and an independent monitor. A federal judge last month released the department after 23 years of federal monitoring.