Authorities charge 10 current and former California police officers in corruption case

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Federal authorities have charged 10 current and former Northern California police officers in a corruption investigation.

Ismail J. Ramsey, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, announced the charges Thursday during a news conference. Arrest warrants were served Thursuday in California, Texas and Hawaii, said Robert Tripp, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office.

Tripp said the arrests were the result of a two-year investigation. Authorities said early in the news conference that nine were charged, but later confirmed there were 10.

Charges against Morteza Amiri, Eric Allen Rombough and Devon Christopher Wenger say the three conspired with each other and others “to injure, oppress, threaten and intimidate residents of Antioch, California.”

A copy of the indictment says the charges stem from actions by the three Antioch police officers between February 2019 and March 2022.

The charges against the three include one count of conspiracy against rights and multiple counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. Amiri also faces one count of destruction, alteration or falsification of records in a federal investigation.

The indictment references racist text messages sent by the officers as well as details of times they used excessive force against suspects and later falsified reports about the encounters.

“Defendants authored police reports containing false and misleading statements to suggest that the force they used was necessary and justifiable,” the indictment said. “In truth and in fact, and as the Defendants well knew, Defendants willfully used excessive force in numerous incidents, including those identified in this Indictment.”