Several San Francisco Police Officers Suspended Over Highly Racist Texts

Several San Francisco police officers have been subject to suspension upon being accused of sending racist and homophobic texts between 2011 and 2012, including repeated mention of lynchings, burning crosses and ‘White Power.'

There are discrepancies among reports of whether it was seven or eight officers involved in these reprehensible acts.

These  allegations come at a time when police brutality against minorities and other racially motivated police action has hit the nation. The severe misconduct of these officers is not being taken lightly by the Police Chief or the District Attorney’s office.  

Chief of Police Greg Suhr is calling for an immediate termination of the unidentified officers. He announced at a press conference that he has urged the oversight committee to approve the firing of the officers.  

Authorities say that the violent messages are of deplorable hateful speech and targeted African-Americans, Mexicans, Filipinos, and gay men.  One text read “All n**gers must f***ing hang." Another: “Cross burning lowers blood pressure! I did the test myself!”  

Chief Suhr is sickened by the content of these texts, saying in a statement he gave to Time, that they “are of such despicable thinking that those responsible clearly fall below the minimum standards required to be a police officer.” 

The text messages were discovered by Federal authorities while holding an investigation on another matter entirely.  At the time of uncovering this scandal, the Feds were looking into a former sargeant, Sargeant Ian Furminger, who was convicted of corruption in December 2014 and sentenced to 41 months in prison.  The texts were disclosed in court filings during Furminger’s trial, pointing to fourteen officers and employees sending or receiving the racists texts.

In light of the case, San Francisco leaders have voiced their concern that the officers’ prejudicial views may have contributed to mistreatment and racially biased actions that lack validity.  

District Attorney George Gascon announced that his office will review all cases dating back ten years regarding cases where policemen wrote reports, submitted evidence or testified in court.  

Another county prosecutor, San Francisco’s public defender Jeff Adachi stated that he believes authorities need to re-examine some 1,000 cases involving those officers. 

He went on to say at the press conference that, “This casual dehumanization leads to real-life suffering and injustice. It foments a toxic environment in which citizens fear and distrust the police, brutality reigns, and good officers are less effective.”