California police force whose officers shared racist texts agrees to reform deal

Officers in Antioch near San Francisco sent racist and sexist messages and boasted about fabricating evidence

A San Francisco Bay area police department mired in scandal over racist and sexist texts implicating dozens of officers has agreed to reforms and five years of outside monitoring, the US Department of Justice announced.

According to the agreement made public on Friday, the Antioch police department and the city of Antioch will select an expert law enforcement consultant approved by the justice department to review and update its practices on nondiscriminatory policing, use of force, hiring and promotions and discipline, among other topics, over a five-year period.