San Francisco Police Sent Dozens of Racist, Antigay Texts

Think you can trust police in liberal San Francisco to be bias-free? Apparently not.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman is the Editorial Director, Print of Pride Media, publishers of The Advocate, Out, Out Traveler, and Plus, spending more than 20 years in journalism. He indulges his interest in transportation and urban planning with regular contributions to Los Angeles magazine, and his work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He lives in the City of Angels with his husband, children, and their chiweenie.

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Neal Broverman

March 31 2016 8:37 PM EST

August 23 2016 4:46 AM EST

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The district attorney of San Francisco announced Thursday that his staff discovered dozens of racist and antigay texts sent between five city cops -- just one year after 14 different police officers were ensnared in another texting scandal.

D.A. George Gascon (pictured) said the latest round of missives surfaced during the discovery phase of a criminal case. He said the texts "used the n word profusely and were also derogatory toward members of the LGBT community," the Los Angeles Times reports.

Gascon has already asked San Francisco's top cop, Greg Suhr, to remove the five officers from duty.

"As with any big organization, you're going to have people who are not as you would have them be," Suhr told the San Francisco Chronicle. "As soon as I found out about it, I took swift action. I think all the honorable men and women who serve this department know I give no quarter to this kind of thing."

Suhr did not offer specifics about the terminations or suspensions.

The racist and homophobic texts were sent in 2014 and 2015 on officers' personal cell phones. The previous scandal, which emerged last year, involved texts sent in 2012, with police officers calling racial minorities "monkeys" and supporting the killing of "half-breeds." Because the department waited too long to discipline those officers, a judge ruled they can remain on the payroll, according to the L.A. Times.