ANTIOCH — No element of hate or any other crime was found in a police investigation of a social media post that called for bringing back “hanging” in the “town square” to “fix” Antioch, authorities said.
Interim Antioch Police Chief Brian Addington said it was “determined that the elements of a hate crime or any other crime were not met.” The decision not to pursue a criminal case against the individual who made the post came after consultation with the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office.
“The matter has been closed,” Addington wrote in a text message to this news organization.
The investigation began earlier this month after a resident brought the “hanging” social media post to the attention of the City Council and shared screenshots of the post with police.
Nicole Arrington, who mentioned the comment during the Aug. 27 council meeting, said the remarks were part of a pattern of “vile, racist, and hateful” comments aimed at Black members of the council and city staff.
Antioch, a city with 115,000 people, has had its fair share of racial tension bubbling up for years as the Black population doubled over the past 20 years, while the White population has dropped to just over one-third of the total residents in the city.
Last year, the police department became entangled in a text message scandal where officers used racist, sexist and homophobic language about members of the community, including Black men officers had violently arrested.
Almost half of the police department sent or received the messages. Three of those same officers are charged in an alleged conspiracy to assault Black residents for sport and face trial later this year.
Councilmember Tamisha Torres-Walker, in an interview, called the “hanging” comment “outrageous” and a reminder of the vitriol that exists in the community. Since taking office in 2020, the Black councilwoman said, she has received several hateful comments on her social media pages.
