Antioch hosts 1st of 3 community forums in search of new police chief following texting scandal

ANTIOCH, Calif. (KGO) -- The city of Antioch has begun its search for a new police chief. It held its first of three community forums on Saturday.

"The police department hasn't had a permanent chief since 2001. And so for them, to have permanence and stability is going to mean a lot for their morale, their ability to move forward," said Antioch City Manager Bessie Marie Scott, who is leading the search for the police chief.

"I think past conversation has been kind of trauma-based with what occurred. But today, everyone kind of came together, and listed out stakeholders that they thought would be important to be in this space," said Porsche Taylor, who chairs the Antioch Police Oversight Commission. She said topics focused on accountability, community policing and transparency.

"It is good to hear us. I hope they are listening," said Antioch resident Frank Sterling, Jr. "It's not going to be an easy job. It's going to be decades, I feel like, in the making to change things."

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Sterling, a longtime Antioch activist, also attended the morning meeting. He applauds the city's efforts to solicit community input but is somewhat skeptical of how much impact it will have.

"Times are changing, and I think this kind of community input is going to be important to move forward in the future," he said. "Especially in Antioch--with what was revealed through the text messages--when you got a good look of what they were actually thinking and saying."

Two years ago, the FBI uncovered a racist texting scandal that led to 40% of the police department being put on paid leave. In January, a consent decree was announced between Antioch and United States Department of Justice, outlining areas where the police department needs to make major changes.

Scott said the new chief will need to build up a department that is data-driven and strong on supervision.

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"How do you build and have strong teams officers who are doing very difficult work in a very difficult environment, given the other issues across, health, housing, education, in a state of diminishing resources everywhere," Scott said.

The application process closes at the end of February. Residents can also take part through a community survey available on the city's website.

Captain Joe Vigil was named Antioch's interim police chief. He said he will also apply for the permanent job.

Scott says the city hopes to have new chief in place by June.