S.F. chief reacts to text scandal

Racist, homophobic messages were found on police cellphones.

san francisco» San Francisco’s police chief said Friday that he has ordered that all officers finish an anti-harassment class within the next month amid a racist texting scandal that has rocked the department already dogged by fatal shootings of unarmed minority suspects.

Flanked by religious and minority community leaders at a San Francisco news conference, Police Chief Greg Suhr also released more transcripts of racist and homophobic text messages along with inflammatory and inappropriate images found on former officers’ cellphones.

It’s the second texting scandal the department has endured since 2014. Suhr says he has no plans to resign, and Mayor Ed Lee says he supports the chief.

Lee sent an e-mail to the entire department of nearly 2,100 officers Thursday night calling on them to report colleagues who display intolerant behavior.

Suhr said Friday that two officers turned in by colleagues for suspected overtime abuse and unauthorized access of driving records are now being investigated by the district attorney for possible criminal charges.

“I support Chief Suhr,” said the Rev. Amos Brown, president of San Francisco’s NAACP chapter.

Investigators say they found the text messages on the personal phones of the officers during criminal probes of former Officer Jason Lai and retired Lt. Curtis Liu.

“The vast majority of police officers are shaken,” Suhr said.