Four Torrance police officers involved in the racist text scandal that shocked the community — and exacerbated concerns about racism and accountability within the agency after 2018 fatal shooting of Christopher De’Andre Mitchell – according to government documents and multiple sources, are no longer employed by the city.
Police declined to comment on whether the officers have been fired, citing an ongoing investigation into the scandal. Police Chief Jeremiah Hart, for his part, said the department was working with the U.S. Department of Justice to update its policies and implement reforms to restore community confidence.
Rancho Cucamonga attorney Thomas Yu, who represents at least two of the fired officers, did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The Daily Breeze searched databases and social media to reach out to the fired officers for comment, but was unsuccessful.
In the past, however, Yu has criticized the city’s way of getting text messages at the center of the scandal.
The texts, which were sent from July 2018 to February 2020, contained jokes about “gassing the Jews”, urinating on a black man and beating up a woman. They use different variations of the N-word and refer to inmates as ‘monkeys’, ‘moon crickets’ and ‘savages’.
The lyrics first came to light in December 2021leading to 15 officers being placed on administrative leave and loud calls from the public for consequences.
Now, a year later, there are signs that action may have been taken.
Four officers linked to the scandal went missing from the workforce at various times in recent months.
The last time all four appeared on the staff roster was on Aug. 29, and they were all gone by Dec. 5, according to documents obtained by the Daily Breeze through multiple public record requests. The city’s human resources department confirmed that these four officers had been “fired,” as did a source with knowledge of the investigation, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation or problems with police personnel.
However, termination does not necessarily mean they have been fired.
According to an HR representative, Torrance uses two classifications for staff moving out of town: laid-off and retired. So “terminated” encompasses multiple reasons why an employee left the agency.
Details of any disciplinary action taken in response to the texting scandal are confidential as the investigation is ongoing.
The fired officers, according to the personnel rosters and confirmed by the anonymous source, are Brian Kawamoto, Joshua Satterfield, Omar Alonso and Anthony Chavez.
Black Lives Matter activist Sheila Bates praised the terminations in a recent interview.
“I’m glad these officers are no longer with the Torrance Police Department,” Bates said, adding that she hopes the reason they are no longer with the police force is because “those who had a say in it saw light that she should have been fired.
“I hope they can’t work anywhere else,” Bates added. “They have done tremendous damage to the community.”
The Torrance Police Department has been dealing calls for reform and accountability since the fatal shooting by Mitchell policea black man, in December 2018. Dismissed Officer Chavez was one of two officers who shot Mitchell and was acquitted for his use of force by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office in November 2019.
Black lives matter activists protested at Torrance City Council meetings for months after Mitchell’s death.
Bates, being one such protester, was arrested along with three fellow activists at a rally in May 2019. She then filed a lawsuit against the city of Torrance, saying that four police officers — including fired Officer Kawamoto — had violently assaulted her. She settled the case earlier this year.
The department faced further criticism in January 2020 two separate officers sprayed a swastika in a resident’s car; the two officers were fired in March of that year, Hart said at a press conference in August 2021.
The inquiry into the swastika incident opened a Pandora’s box of scandal for the department and brought years of hateful, racist, anti-Semitic and misogynistic messages to the public’s attention.
The city initially used a search warrant for the cellphones of two officers involved in the swastika incident, leading investigators to find the trove of text messages sent from July 2018 to February 2020 — a discovery that Yu has repeatedly criticized, both in public and in public. statements as in court filings.
“The overwhelming information extracted from the search warrant threatens the privacy protections promised to all Californians,” Yu wrote in a lawsuit late last year asking for the lyrics to be suppressed and destroyed. That request was rejected on August 26, according to the OM.
Attorney General Rob Bonta launched an investigation in the December 2021 and August racist texts, the Daily Breeze obtained a copy of all 390 posts containing or referencing anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic or transphobic comments by current or former officers.
The revelation of the full extent of hatred and racism expressed by officers reignited the scandal – and calls for accountability.
In addition to the four officers disappearing from the roster, there are indications of discipline on the Torrance Civil Service committee’s agendas.
Any police personnel who take disciplinary action, including dismissal, has the right to appeal against that decision, first to the Civil Service Commission and then to the City Council.
Seven people who are or were Torrance police officers are currently having separate disciplinary hearings working their way through Civil Service Commission hearings, according to recent meeting agendas. The details of these cases are all confidential, meaning the subject matter of the appeals is unclear; they could be in response to the texting scandal or other possible wrongdoings.
Bates, for her part, said she hopes more people will leave the police station.
“I hope this is a pattern and we see a lot more people leaving the Torrance Police Department,” she said, “because that department is rife with corruption and racism and anti-blackness and other forms of bigotry.”
The police agency, meanwhile, has said it is working with the Justice Department to investigate issues within the agency and implement reforms.
“In light of the discovery of information raising serious concerns about bias, the use of force and other behavior of officers working with the Torrance Police Department, Chief Constable Hart has requested that the Department of Justice conduct an independent review” Hart said in a written statement. , referring to himself in the third person. “The overall goal of this effort is to increase public confidence, address and eliminate prejudice, and support modern and innovative policing practices.”