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San Francisco Police to fire cops accused of sending racist texts
File photo: San Francisco police cars sit parked in front of the Hall of Justice.
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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The San Francisco Police Department will begin proceedings to fire three officers who sent racist and homophobic text messages, according to TV news station KGO.
"The officers who go for recommendations for termination will be immediately suspended and will be Friday at the end of the close of business," Police Chief Greg Suhr told KGO.
Originally, four officers were under internal investigation. But since the scandal surfaced, one of the officers, Michael Robinson, has resigned. Officials are now looking at 13 officers who are potentially involved in the scandal.
The texts were found in a federal court filing against former Sgt. Ian Furminger, convicted in December for his role in a series of thefts from drug suspects, KQED reported in March:
The Police Department says the texts, sent between late 2011 and the middle of 2012, implicate four other officers who are now the subjects of a department inquiry.
Texts show Furminger and other officers swapping slurs about black people and gay people, including other police officers.
“It’s an internal affairs investigation looking into officers who have shown extreme bias, which has no place in the San Francisco Police Department,” Sgt. Monica Macdonald said. “The officers were reassigned some time ago while the investigation is under way.”
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