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DA expands probe sparked by 'hateful' police texts, says at least 3,000 cases may be affected

A probe of texts by San Francisco police officers described as ‘hateful’ by the city’s police chief has been expanded, the district attorney for the city and county of San Francisco announced on Thursday.

DA George Gascon said the probe, which has identified at least 14 officers involved in sending racist and homophobic texts, will be expanded to investigate whether the entire police department is permeated by a culture of bias, reports the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.).

He said three retired judges have been added to a task force he created to investigate and that 3,000 cases so far, over a period of 10 years, have been identified that may have been affected by bias. In nearly half, defendants were arrested but not prosecuted.

The investigation was sparked when a U.S. attorney’s office motion filed in March opposing bail for a police officer convicted in a corruption case listed texts.

Citing the disproportionate number of African-Americans arrested and prosecuted in San Francisco, public defender Jeff Adachi told the newspaper he is hoping that scrutiny will extend beyond simply reviewing documents and interview victims of discriminatory conduct by police.

“This is a systemic problem we have in San Francisco,” he said, adding: “This is not an isolated case of 14 officers.”

Related coverage:

Los Angeles Times (sub. req.): “S.F. police chief: Officers should be fired for ‘hateful’ text messages”