A local California police department has reiterated its previous vow to cooperate with the state’s attorney general to reform the agency after the release of new racist texts between its officers.
Newly released texts show Torrance Police officers joked about urinating on a Black girl and about a dead Black father. Previous text messages show officers also bragged about using excessive force and made light of getting caught by internal affairs.
California’s Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation in December when the first set of text messages was released. However, the Los Angeles Times reports that the second tranche of nearly 400 texts was discovered on the officers’ phone during an investigation and included in recent court documents.
“The commitment to change and reform on the part of the City of Torrance and the Torrance Police Department is evident every day,” wrote Torrance Police spokesperson Sgt. Ron Salary in an Aug. 25 statement. “Our officers are striving to rebuild trust with every interaction.”
In one of the texts sent between July 2018 and February 2020, the officers laughed at a news story about a man urinating on a Black girl, who they referred to as the N-word, reports show.
“Where’s the crime?” one officer asked.
The officers also called Black detainees “savages,” “moon crickets” and “monkeys” and bragged about beating them.
“Got her pretty good on the takedown. She’s got a decent shiner on her face,” an officer texted.
In another message thread, the officers complained about protestors rallying outside the building because of the police killing of a Black man, Christopher DeAndre Mitchell. The officers who shot Mitchell reportedly joked about hosting a gun cleaning party once their identities are revealed.
“Gun cleaning Party at my house when they release my name??” one asked.
“Let’s all just post in your yard with lawn chairs in a [firing] squad,” another officer replied.
In another text, the officers seem to mock the son of a dead man.
“His son will grow up without a father now. Oh way, (sic) that’s standard by any African-American family to be absent a father. He’ll be fine.”
The previously redacted documents also had several other mentions of the N-word, racist cartoons of Black and Latino residents and comments about lynching suspects and killing Black children.
Torrance Mayor George Chen told the Daily Breeze the texts are “appalling and troubling.”
“The police department and the California Department of Justice have already initiated investigations and we must allow this process to continue to the end,” Chen said. “I am confident that under Chief (Jeremiah) Hart, the police department has and will continue to aggressively ensure that racism, bigotry, and hate have no place in our police department.”
Authorities found the texts as they were investigating officers Christopher Tomsic and Cody Weldin for spraying a swastika inside a vehicle. The messages are conversations between Tosmic, Weldin and 15 other officers. Tosmic and Weldin have since left the force and pleaded guilty to charges related to the vandalism incident.
In one message, an officer shared photographs of tiny coffins for the Black children they would “put down.”
The Los Angeles Times reports that the city has up to a year after the text messages are discovered to discipline the officers under state law. The district attorney’s office reportedly uncovered the text messages last August. It is unclear when city officials received them, however.
Salary, in his statement, cited a memorandum of understanding between the City of Torrance and the Department of Justice, which he said “memorializes our absolute commitment to change while maintaining our focus on public safety.”
Local Black Lives Matter organizer Baba Akili doubts the department will address the issue.
“They’ve taken the ostrich approach. If an article comes out or something that’s … clearly unavoidable, they’ll respond,” he said. “But other than that, they stick their heads in the sand and go on business as usual as if nothing ever happened.”
The police department has confirmed that 15 officers were placed on administrative leave because of the texting scandal. Reports also show that at least 113 cases connected to the officers have been dismissed by city and county prosecutors.
Local activist Sheila Bates, 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 added.
