Officers have long been trying to suppress evidence of the texts, which were found last year shortly before prosecutors charged former Torrance police officers Christopher Tomsic and Cody Weldin with spray-painting a swastika inside a car.Ī search warrant executed as part of that case found Tomsic, Weldin and at least 15 other officers had been exchanging racist, violent and homophobic messages for years, court records show. Despite critics' calls for a civilian board to oversee the Police Department - as Los Angeles has - there's little evidence that Torrance officials have taken tangible steps toward reform since the scandal exploded. The state attorney general's office filed a subpoena in May for thousands of pages of Torrance police records, but officials have declined to provide updates on the state investigation. Still, most of the officers implicated remain employed by the city.
Lawsuits filed against officers involved have already cost Torrance more than $10 million. "Yes absolutely let's all just post in your yard with lawn chairs in a squad," another replied.Įight months ago, a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed portions of racist and homophobic text messages exchanged by at least a dozen Torrance police officers, a scandal that sparked an investigation by the California attorney general's office.Ĭriminal cases in which the officers were involved continue to be dismissed, and at least one man has been released from prison. "Gun cleaning Party at my house when they release my name?" one asked.
0 kommentar(er)
