Muslim San Francisco cop alleges ‘blatant racism’ on job

An unnamed San Francisco police officer on Tuesday said he experienced harassment and racist treatment from fellow officers over the past year. An unnamed San Francisco police officer on Tuesday said he experienced harassment and racist treatment from fellow officers over the past year. Photo: Evan Sernoffsky / The Chronicle Photo: Evan Sernoffsky / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Muslim San Francisco cop alleges ‘blatant racism’ on job 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A San Francisco police officer who is Muslim and emigrated from Afghanistan said Tuesday that fellow cops and superiors repeatedly referred to him as a terrorist and subjected him to ugly jokes, slurs and other “blatant racism” in his first two years with the department.

The officer, who spoke at a news conference arranged by city Public Defender Jeff Adachi — but asked not to be identified by name, citing fear of harassment or attacks — said he witnessed colleagues engaging in sexual and racist misconduct toward citizens as well, including calling a black motorist a “monkey.”

Among the officer’s allegations are that co-workers routinely muted their body-worn cameras before making crude comments at crime scenes, and that several expressed support for the white nationalist movement.

He said he came forward because he “lost faith” after reporting the alleged misconduct in November to his department’s Internal Affairs Bureau and in January to the city’s Department of Human Resources.

Since filing the reports, the officer said, he’s “been labeled a rat, singled out by my colleagues, and I now fear for my safety.” He said he was “profoundly disappointed things turned out the way they did. When I experienced racial and religious harassment, and also witnessed blatant misconduct against citizens, I reported it. That’s my duty as a police officer.”

In a statement Tuesday, San Francisco police officials said they take the allegations “very seriously.”

“The department was made aware of these allegations in November 2017 and immediately initiated an investigation,” officials said. “There are currently three ongoing investigations by SFPD and the City’s Department of Human Resources. SFPD will thoroughly investigate all alleged misconduct uncovered during these investigations which implicates any member of this department.”

The officer’s accusations come as the police force works to implement reforms after a U.S. Department of Justice review that was spurred by past charges of racism and several controversial police shootings. The department was rocked by scandal in 2015 and 2016, when it was revealed that several police officers had been exchanging racist and homophobic text messages.

The officer has not filed a lawsuit against his department and only wants it to “properly train these officers,” said Adachi. He said he got involved because all efforts by the officer to report the allegations were met with inaction or retaliation.

“This is not about money,” he said. “This is about wanting to improve the department.”

The officer began working for the city force in June 2016 after graduating from San Francisco’s Police Academy. A year later, he completed field training and was assigned to Central Station, he said. Within a month, he said, he was being harassed.

Adachi provided reporters with a redacted copy of the officer’s human resources complaint, which details the alleged misconduct. In July 2017, the officer said, fellow officers took him to a “gentleman’s club” on Broadway while they were on duty to “embarrass” him. Over the next month, he said, he was harassed over his race and religion.

The incidents described by the officer include:

•A fellow officer asking him, “Do you know any towel heads?”

•A fellow officer telling him, “I would appreciate it if you tell me the place of your terrorist network, so I can plan in advance. When your family members come out here as an active shooter or ram a car, I’d appreciate it if you give me a heads up so I can put them down gently.”

•An officer saying a “Muslim ban” should go into effect, asking, “Why do we have them here? Get them all out.”

•An officer asking if his police earpiece wire was connected to a bomb.

In August, the officer reported that someone wrote “tick tick” on his police locker. Officers later asked him, according to his report, if he could take a joke: “You’re not one of those crybabies are you?” Shortly after, an officer called him a racial slur roughly four times, he said.

Adachi showed a picture of the officer’s Central Station locker, on which someone allegedly wrote the words, “ISIS go back.”

The officer also alleged misconduct toward citizens. In one November incident, Adachi said, a fellow cop told the officer they had to respond to a 911 call outside their district and ended up at an apartment on Union Street. An intoxicated woman inside said she’d met the officer before, when he stopped her for driving under the influence and then let her go after she showed him her breasts, Adachi said. He said this officer then told his shocked partner to wait while he had sex with the woman.

The officer who spoke at the news conference Tuesday said he left the apartment and reported the incident.

That same month, he said, he was on patrol with an officer who told him, “I want to get guns, and the only people who have guns are blacks and Hispanics. The department doesn’t like us to make judgments like that, but if I see a black person behind the wheel of the vehicle, I’ll pull the car over and figure out my probable cause later.”

Later that night, according to the complaint, the fellow officer said in reference to an African American driver, “Did you see that f— monkey?”

The reporting officer added that he heard officers repeatedly use homophobic slurs, including one officer calling another a “f— faggot.”

The officer said joining the San Francisco force was a boyhood dream, and that he had admired the organization since he was 8, when an officer helped his family as they arrived at San Francisco International Airport.

Despite the allegations, he said he plans to continue working for the department for the next 30 years.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky