Steven Ford

Texts that referred to black people as circus monkeys and gorillas in a Northern California police officer revealed by an FBI probe into more than a dozen police officers in one municipality revealed. According to documents obtained by investigators, 17 officers in Antioch sent or received racial messages, including threats against the city's own mayor, Lamar Thorpe, who is black, among other things. During a protest today, antioch officer John Ramirez wrote in a text in June 2020: 'I'll buy someone a prime rib dinner at House of prim ribs to 40 that mfr [motherf****r, directed to Thorpe].' Someone is slang for using a handgun with a 40-millimeter launcher that fires a less lethal bullet at a person. Other texts included in the study included racist memes, assurances that they will arrest people for "driving while black" and making up claims, as well as general threats. Sgt. Police Sgt.'s text from April 2020 reads in a single text. 'I'll bury the [N-word] in my fields,' Josh Evans told Officer Morteza Amiri.' 'And yes, it was a difficult R on purpose,' he wrote in a second text.' The texts were 'racially offensive,' according to Antioch Police Chief Steven Ford, who is also black, while Thorpe erupted last week after calling out one community member who appeared to oppose their messages.