Report uncovers new racist texts allegedly sent by former SF police officer

ByTiffany Wilson KGO logo
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
Report uncovers new racist texts allegedly sent by former SFPD cop
New homophobic and racist text messages allegedly sent by a San Francisco police officer are coming to light in a report.

SAN FRANCISCO -- New homophobic and racist text messages allegedly sent by a former San Francisco police officer are coming to light. The text messages are at the center of an ongoing scandal for the SFPD.CNN exclusively obtained a list of dozens of offensive texts allegedly sent to and from Officer Jason Lai in 2014 and 2015.

RELATED: Feds reviewing complaints of SF police racism bias

Lai resigned from the San Francisco police department earlier this month. His attorney told CNN the texts are not reflective of who he is. The messages from Lai's personal cellphone contain offensive language.

The texts put down African Americans, Hispanics, Indians and gay officers. The messages were discovered as part of an SFPD probe into a sexual assault allegation against Lai made by a woman last year. CNN reports at least two exchanges appear to involve other officers, but their names are blocked in the documents they obtained.

RELATED: SFPD faces widening scandal over racist, homophobic text messages

One exchange referencing African Americans says "they're like a pack (of) wild animals on the loose." Another disparages Indians: "Indian people are disgusting," and another text puts down the homeless "burn down Walgreens and kill the bums."

A text "passive aggressive 528" used coded language to describe an encounter with a sergeant. The numeric code 528 is used for a fire call; a source tells CNN that number is used to describe gay officers as flaming.

This is the second time in as many years that the SFPD has been the subject of a racist texting scandal. Chief Greg Suhr told CNN Monday that he has no tolerance for biased officers and he's working to get the department to a better place.

RELATED: SF judge: 7 SFPD officers can't be punished for racist text messages

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