Prince.Skeletor
Don’t Be Like He-Man
The day after Torrance police shot Christopher DeAndre Mitchell in 2018, his mother and a dozen of his loved ones staged a protest outside the department’s headquarters.
At the same time, a group of officers — including the two who had killed Mitchell — were discussing the situation via text message.
“Was going to tell you all those [N-word] family members are all pissed off in front of the station,” one wrote, according to court documents recently reviewed by The Times.
Court records show the officers later mused about what might happen once the identities of those who shot the 23-year-old became public.
“Gun cleaning Party at my house when they release my name??” one asked.
“Yes absolutely let’s all just post in your yard with lawn chairs in a [firing] squad,” another replied.
Eight 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.
Criminal cases in which the officers were involved continue to be dismissed, and at least one man has been released from prison. Lawsuits filed against officers involved have already cost Torrance more than $10 million. Still, most of the officers implicated remain employed by the city.
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. 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.
And earlier this year, another trove of offensive texts came to light.
In response to a court filing from officers implicated in the scandal, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office submitted an exhibit containing all 390 “anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic or transphobic remarks” allegedly made by the officers between 2018 and 2020. The documents, which were heavily redacted, included the comments about Mitchell’s loved ones and contained racist cartoons of Black and Latino residents as well as remarks about lynching suspects and killing Black children.
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.
A 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. The officers’ attorneys argued the search went way beyond the scope of the criminal investigation, so most of the texts should be barred from use in prosecutions or internal disciplinary hearings.
Ironically, it was that move to suppress the texts that made them available, after the district attorney’s office filed its report on the messages in court.
Tomsic and Weldin left the police department in 2020 after the swastika incident. A spokesman wouldn’t say if they were fired or resigned.
If the city doesn’t act soon, other officers implicated in the texting scandal could avoid discipline. Under state law, officers generally must face discipline within one year of their agency learning about alleged misconduct. Records show the district attorney’s office recovered all of the racist messages last August, though it’s unclear when Torrance officials reviewed them.
Police Chief Jeremiah Hart declined to comment. Sgt. Mark Ponegalek, a Torrance police spokesman, declined to answer questions from The Times, citing ongoing investigations. But he insisted the agency is working toward reform and noted Torrance police have held meetings with state investigators and provided them with roughly 100,000 pages of documents.
Those affected by the officers under investigation said the seeming lack of action in Torrance is terrifying, but not surprising.
Sheila Bates, a Black Lives Matter organizer who has accused some of the officers of assault, said the department “cannot hold these officers accountable …They cannot keep the public safe.”
“They cannot keep their Black residents safe,” she continued.
I would suggest reading the entire article:
www.latimes.com
Most of them probably former military.
That's what the WS does, they join the military first and then join the police force.
Police get shytty weapons training, so WS end up being the only ones with weapons trainings and some combat training in the police force.
I'm just saying that because there's alot of pro-U.S. Military people here on the coli.
www.nbcnews.com
At the same time, a group of officers — including the two who had killed Mitchell — were discussing the situation via text message.
“Was going to tell you all those [N-word] family members are all pissed off in front of the station,” one wrote, according to court documents recently reviewed by The Times.
Court records show the officers later mused about what might happen once the identities of those who shot the 23-year-old became public.
“Gun cleaning Party at my house when they release my name??” one asked.
“Yes absolutely let’s all just post in your yard with lawn chairs in a [firing] squad,” another replied.
Eight 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.
Criminal cases in which the officers were involved continue to be dismissed, and at least one man has been released from prison. Lawsuits filed against officers involved have already cost Torrance more than $10 million. Still, most of the officers implicated remain employed by the city.
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. 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.
And earlier this year, another trove of offensive texts came to light.
In response to a court filing from officers implicated in the scandal, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office submitted an exhibit containing all 390 “anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic or transphobic remarks” allegedly made by the officers between 2018 and 2020. The documents, which were heavily redacted, included the comments about Mitchell’s loved ones and contained racist cartoons of Black and Latino residents as well as remarks about lynching suspects and killing Black children.
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.
A 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. The officers’ attorneys argued the search went way beyond the scope of the criminal investigation, so most of the texts should be barred from use in prosecutions or internal disciplinary hearings.
Ironically, it was that move to suppress the texts that made them available, after the district attorney’s office filed its report on the messages in court.
Tomsic and Weldin left the police department in 2020 after the swastika incident. A spokesman wouldn’t say if they were fired or resigned.
If the city doesn’t act soon, other officers implicated in the texting scandal could avoid discipline. Under state law, officers generally must face discipline within one year of their agency learning about alleged misconduct. Records show the district attorney’s office recovered all of the racist messages last August, though it’s unclear when Torrance officials reviewed them.
Police Chief Jeremiah Hart declined to comment. Sgt. Mark Ponegalek, a Torrance police spokesman, declined to answer questions from The Times, citing ongoing investigations. But he insisted the agency is working toward reform and noted Torrance police have held meetings with state investigators and provided them with roughly 100,000 pages of documents.
Those affected by the officers under investigation said the seeming lack of action in Torrance is terrifying, but not surprising.
Sheila Bates, a Black Lives Matter organizer who has accused some of the officers of assault, said the department “cannot hold these officers accountable …They cannot keep the public safe.”
“They cannot keep their Black residents safe,” she continued.
I would suggest reading the entire article:
New racist texts reveal Torrance cops talked about hurting and killing Black suspects
Eight months after The Times revealed racist texts by Torrance police officers, city officials have done little to hold them accountable.
www.latimes.com
Most of them probably former military.
That's what the WS does, they join the military first and then join the police force.
Police get shytty weapons training, so WS end up being the only ones with weapons trainings and some combat training in the police force.
I'm just saying that because there's alot of pro-U.S. Military people here on the coli.
Pentagon report warns of threat from white supremacists inside the military
A small number of extremists within the ranks carry the potential to carry out “high-impact” actions, the report says.
www.nbcnews.com
