San Francisco Cops Said It Was Legal To Murder Black Man Because He Was An ‘Animal’

[cali]

The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) will investigate dozens of racist and homophobic text exchanges between a former SFPD sergeant convicted of corruption charges and four other police officers, the San Francisco Chronicle first reported. The texts made public Friday included jokes about Kwanzaa, calling African Americans monkeys, calling for the lynching of all African Americans, and even one that said, “Its [sic] not against the law to put an animal down.” The four officers have been on the force for at least a decade, with two having faced disciplinary action in the past. The revelation comes at a time when police practices around the country are under scrutiny for racial bias.

The text messages came to light after the Attorney General’s office filed a motion to release the texts to keep former SFPD Sgt. Ian Furminger in custody as a way “to show the officer’s character” and deny him bail, ABC News reported. Furminger, a 20-year veteran, is currently seeking to appeal his conviction and a three-year prison sentence for charges stemming from “a scheme to steal money and property seized during searches and arrests in 2009,” a local CBS news affiliate reported.

Here is a selection of the text messages exchanged between October 2011 and June 2012, while Furminger was still on the police force:

In response to a text asking “Do you celebrate quanza [sic] at your school?” Furminger wrote: “Yeah we burn the cross on the field! Then we celebrate Whitemas.”

“The buffalo soldier was why the Indians Wouldnt [sic] shoot the n****** that found for the confederate They [sic] thought they were sacred buffalo and not human.”

In response to a text saying “N****** should be spayed,” Furminger wrote “I saw one an hour ago with 4 kids.”

In response to a text saying “All n****** must fucking hang,” Furminger wrote “Ask my 6 year old what he thinks about Obama.”

I was trying to be nice to you as everyone knows your [sic] gay. I love calling you a fag. Good enough?

You are a total homo! And your [sic] gay!

“I hate to tell you this but my wife friend [sic] is over with their kids and her husband is black! If [sic] is an Attorney but should I be worried?” Furminger’s friend, an SFPD 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.” Furminger responded, “Well said!”

In response to a text from another SFPD officer regarding the promotion of a black officer to sergeant, Furminger wrote: “Fuckin n*****.”

Furminger also wrote that he was watching one particular black family “like a hawk,” that it was “worth every penny” to live in a neighborhood “away from the savages,” “White power,” and “Cross burning lowers blood pressure! I did the test myself!” His bail hearing is set for next week.

<snip>

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/03/15/3633907/sfpd-deplorable-racist-emails/

[Iggo]

1. Yay, Cops!

They're the best!

[KamaAina]

2. When did SF become Ferguson By The Bay?!

[cali]

5. I think the most frightening piece of this is that it's not an aberration

My guess is that you can find cops with exactly the same virulent strain of racism exhibited here, in most police departments.

[gollygee]

15. Agree 100%

It's a systemic issue, not just individual bad people. Since it's systemic, getting rid of the individual doesn't help as a similar type of person gets hired as a replacement. (Not saying he shouldn't be fired - just that punishing individual bad people doesn't dismantle racism.)

[Nuclear Unicorn]

20. Racism, sexism, sexual assault, homophobia are symptoms.

They're often mistaken as the disease but they are really only symptoms. The real disease is that some people want to control others. Police departments and the other elements of the system are a means for exercising control. That's where they go to have control over others.

[KamaAina]

3. Xposting to California group

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1040

[tularetom]

4. I'd bet anything this piece of shit doesn't live in the city that employs him

He is able to go home to his lily white suburb every night and bitch about the "animals" who in essence, pay his bloated salary.

It used to be a requirement that most public employees live within the boundaries of the jurisdiction they worked for. That was especially true in the case of emergency or public safety employees like firemen, police officers, and even garbage collectors and water workers. This was felt to be important due to response time. Of course, somebody sued over it, and gradually the requirement disappeared. In an expensive city like SF, the majority of cops live outside the city limits, some an hours commute away. They have no stake in what does on there, as long as there's enough money in the budget to pay their salaries.

I suspect this is also true in a less affluent place like Ferguson, where the cops probably feel it's beneath them to live among the people they "protect and serve".

IMO, a good case could be made for re-instituting the requirement that cops reside in the city that they work for.

[cali]

8. really, you think that black people in SF don't work?

and yeah, racist Mike, it's obvious that the people you consider "animals" are black.

And no, the people in the lily white suburbs do not pay the salaries of the SFPD.

take your racist dog shit and stuff it.

[Throd]

10. You were here last week weren't you?

[uppityperson]

11. All last week. And all this week also. Pretty much continuously.

[Bettie]

6. Wow...this TOTALLY makes me think

that these guys are trustworthy.

Are we supposed to say 'well, it isn't the majority'? Because I'm starting to think it isn't a small number of cops who hold views like this.

Plus, I doubt they hide it well, what about all of those "good guy cops" who don't shut this right down. They are just as guilty.

[Sissyk]

12. Good! Clean them up and out.

THIS is one good thing that will come out of Ferguson, I truly hope. Let's clean up all these poliice departments that have racist and homophobic cops.

It's a step in the right direction.

[Sissyk]

14. Bye.

[msanthrope]

16. Screw you.

To the jury...the n-word is never accepted here.

[Sissyk]

18. He gone again.

[msanthrope]

19. Bravi, MIRT. nt