The hateful texts exchanged by officers have largely been kept out of view. But the legal fight stemming from the criminal case against two officers led prosecutors to enter a heavily redacted report on the texts into a public court file earlier this year
The Times has identified a dozen Torrance police officers who are under investigation for sharing racist and homophobic text messages and images.
Officers have long been trying to suppress evidence of the texts, which were found last year shortly before prosecutors charged former Torrance police officers Christopher Tomsic and Cody WeldinA search warrant executed as part of that case found Tomsic, Weldin and at least 15 other officers had been exchanging racist, violent and homophobic messages for years, court records show.
Those affected by the officers under investigation said the seeming lack of action in Torrance is terrifying, but not surprising. Robinson, who is Black, suspected he was being racially profiled and refused. He alleged that officers drew their guns without provocation, leading him to panic and flee the scene, according to court records.
More than a year later, Anis received a letter from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. Satterfield was involved in the texting scandal, at one point referring to a Black child as a “nigglet,” according to court records. Two other officers involved in the stop and chase, Tomsic and Christopher Allen-Young, had also been implicated in the scandal, records show.
Tom Yu, an attorney representing Satterfield, dismissed Robinson’s allegations and questioned whether Robinson’s attorney was “smoking crack.” The hateful text messages exchanged by Torrance police officers have largely been kept out of view. Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón acknowledged their existence during an August 2021 news conference, but any disclosures made to defense attorneys about them were filed under seal.
“Lucky I wasn’t out and about,” one officer wrote in response to a text about Black men robbing someone in Torrance, according to the records. “D.A. shoot team asking me why they are all hung by a noose and shot in the back of the head 8 times each.” Attempts to contact Concannon and Chavez have been unsuccessful. Risling declined to offer an update on the review of Mitchell’s death.
“It really added insult to injury ... to know, that they not only came after me because of me speaking up, but also because of who I am, being a Black woman,” Bates said. “It’s racism that is intrinsic to who they are, but it’s also racism that has deadly consequences.”
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