SFPD looking at 10 more officers in offensive-text probe

Michael Robison, one of the San Francisco police officers identified in a department probe of racist and homophobic text messages, was featured on the cover of the Advocate, a magazine that caters to gay readers, in March 1998, six years after joining the department as an openly gay man. less Michael Robison, one of the San Francisco police officers identified in a department probe of racist and homophobic text messages, was featured on the cover of the Advocate, a magazine that caters to gay ... more Photo: Courtesy The Advocate Photo: Courtesy The Advocate Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close SFPD looking at 10 more officers in offensive-text probe 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

The San Francisco Police Department is expanding its probe into officers’ offensive text messages, with at least 10 additional cops coming under investigation by the internal affairs unit, police union officials said Tuesday.

Sources tell us that at least one captain is among those being questioned about inappropriate text messages, widening an investigation that initially focused on four officers and a former sergeant.

Police Chief Greg Suhr would not name names, confirm ranks or provide details of the probe. He told us in a text message, “We are expediting the investigation and hope to be finished within 30 days.”

“We will know then the number of officer(s) that we will be making proceedings on,” said Suhr, who is out of town.

Police Officers Association President Martin Halloran said the officers have been assigned union attorneys “for their legal defense, which they are entitled to under their peace officer bill of rights.”

The news comes on the heels of the disclosure that former Sgt. Ian Furminger — who was recently convicted of federal corruption charges — exchanged racist and homophobic e-mails with four officers in 2011 and 2012. The texts were handed over to police brass months ago, but did not become public until Friday when federal prosecutors included them in a court filing in the Furminger case.

The four officers remain with the department, but are facing disciplinary proceedings that could result in their firings.

Ironically, one of the four — Michael Robison, 46, who joined the Police Department in 1992 — is himself openly gay. In 1998, Robison was quoted in the gay magazine the Advocate as saying, “I’m treated like one of the guys. ... The 'good ole boy’ system is on its way out, and the new generation that has replaced them sees things from a more open-minded standpoint.”

In their court filing Friday, Furminger’s prosecutors said he had sent repeated texts calling another officer a “fag.”

“No one is championing the bigotry and racism in those words,” said Robison’s attorney, Tony Brass. “But these cops are in a very politically correct department, and when they blow off steam they do it by being the very opposite of politically correct.’’

Some of the messages, however, go beyond the bounds of humor. One example was an unidentified officer’s response to a query from Furminger asking whether he should be worried that the black husband of one of his then-wife’s friends had come over to his home.

The officer responded, “Get ur pocket gun. Keep it available in case the monkey returns to his roots. Its (sic) not against the law to put an animal down,” according to prosecutors.

The officer added, “You may have to kill the half-breeds too. Don’t worry. Their (sic) an abomination of nature anyway,” the court filing said.

“All n— must f— hang,” another unidentified officer texted to Furminger in an unrelated exchange, prosecutors said.

“No doubt there was some joking,” the Rev. Arnold Townsend of the Church Without Walls said at a press conference the NAACP called Monday. “The fact that they think that was funny is awfully scary if you are a black person on the streets of San Francisco.”

Halloran, the union president, said he did not have complete details on why the 10 additional officers had come under investigation. But he said their alleged conduct was “certainly not at the level of the initial four officers — not even close.”

Although the four officers initially implicated in the text exchanges with Furminger have been reassigned, none of the other 10 has been removed from the job pending completion of the internal investigation, Halloran said.

Harry Soulette, a retired SFPD patrol officer with African American Officers for Justice, wants to know why the four were not immediately suspended. He noted that the group’s president, San Francisco police Sgt. Yolanda Williams, is mentioned in a series of texts that refers to someone as a “n— bitch.”

“To have a few officers do something like this really hits home,” Soulette said.

Word of the investigation has hit the department hard, coming at at time when police agencies across the country are under increasing scrutiny when it comes to race relations.

“I think members are shocked and surprised to see this (story) in print, but they are going to continue to do their jobs,’’ Halloran said.

Hoping to keep a lid on the potentially explosive situation, the police union began airing a TV ad campaign Tuesday extolling the department’s diversity. The campaign was in the works before last week’s court filing, but Halloran says the union had a heads-up on what was coming.

“When this investigation first came to the attention of the POA, I wanted to get a message out to the community that we serve that our department is one of the most diverse in the entire country — where over half our members consist of women, people of color and members of the LGBT community,” Halloran said.

“That is what the SFPD and SFPOA are all about.”

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or e-mail matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross