Thursday, December 24, 2015

JUDGE RULES IN FAVOR OF SAN FRANCISCO OFFICERS IN RACIST TEXT CASE

Under the state's Police Bill of Rights, according to the ruling, the charges against the officers violated a statute of limitations

By Curtis Skinner

Reuters
December 22, 2015

SAN FRANCISCO -- A judge ruled on Monday that San Francisco police officers can keep their jobs and not face discipline despite being involved in a scandal stemming from racist text messages that forced the review of thousands of criminal cases, court records showed.

The move comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of racism and discrimination by law enforcement following numerous high-profile police killings of unarmed black people across the United States since mid-2014.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith found in favor of officer Rain Daugherty, who filed a lawsuit in May along with several other officers, saying his suspension violated a statute of limitations provided by a police officer's Bill of Rights.

Goldsmith said the statute "serves to both protect the rights of police officers and to ensure the public's safety" by requiring that investigations are conducted in a timely manner.

San Francisco City Attorney's Office spokesman Matt Dorsey said the agency was "disappointed" by the ruling and was exploring possible next steps.

Daugherty did not deny sending "grossly inappropriate texts" but argued in court that an investigation was not launched for roughly two years after the messages were uncovered in 2012 - a year longer than allowed under the statute.

Police Chief Greg Suhr in May moved to have Daugherty and seven other officers fired and six more disciplined.

Prosecutors have been forced to review thousands of arrests linked to the officers, which has led to the dismissal of 13 criminal cases thus far, according to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.

"The fact that San Francisco is forced to retain police officers that demonstrated explicit racism will have ramifications for the reputation of the department," District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement after the ruling.

The offensive texts came to light during an FBI corruption investigation involving Ian Furminger, a former San Francisco police sergeant.

Court documents in the Furminger case said officers used their phones to text offensive messages. In the texts, Furminger used racial epithets, bragged that a relative was a slave auctioneer, and joked about the Ku Klux Klan. He also sent texts insulting Latinos and gay people, the documents said.

The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper reported that three officers resigned in connection with the probe, though one asked to be reinstated after Daugherty's case was filed.

EDITOR’S NOTE: According to the Los Angeles Times of March 17, the officers referred to minorities as “savages,” used the word “nigger” to refer to African Americans and suggested they be spayed like animals, and used an epithet for homosexuals. Other text messages insulted Filipinos and Mexicans.

These officers are lucky their texts were not discovered until the Justice Department conducted a probe into corruption within the San Francisco Police Department. In the end, I seriously doubt the officers will be able to get their jobs back.

As for the police shootings of blacks, that does not mean racist or homophobic cops want to kill minorities or homosexuals. If a cop is racist, he is nevertheless justified in shooting a black man who is perceived to be an imminent threat to the life of the officer or a citizen.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Although I don't agree with the content of the officer's text messages, I do agree with the ruling. That being said, these officers did not place these comments on s social media. They were intended for certain individuals and unless they were city issued cell phones, their privacy should not have been violated.

As it stands now, their careers are ruined and they need to find another vocation.

Silver Bullet