Officers Suspended In Text Messaging Scandal

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SAN FRANCISCO—Following the unearthing of an alleged scandal in which San Francisco police officers exchanged racist and homophobic text messages, seven officers have been suspended from the force.

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The text messages in question reportedly contained racial and homophobic slurs.

San Francisco Chief of Police Greg Suhr is now calling for the firing of the officers in question. Suhr announced on Friday, April 3 in a statement that he has requested the police oversight committee approve the firing of all seven officers.

In justifying their release, Suhr called the actions of the officers “despicable,” firmly asserting that the seven men “clearly fall below the minimum standards required to be a police officer.”

Suhr also said that six other policemen with alleged involvement in the scandal will face disciplinary action. Among the potential punishments suggested was the permanent transfer of the officers to positions that involve no contact with the general public.

One officer has already submitted his resignation.

Officials have stated that the texts, dating back to 2011 and 2012, included derogatory language targeting homosexual men, blacks, Filipinos, and Mexicans. The texts were discovered during a federal investigation of former Sergeant Ian Furminger, a plainclothes officer who was convicted in December 2014 of robbing drug suspects.