Ex-Torrance police officers move to suppress use of offensive texts

The destiny of 2 erstwhile Torrance constabulary officers whitethorn remainder Monday with a Superior Court justice who has been asked to propulsion retired grounds that the officers shared racist and homophobic substance messages.

Judge Amy Carter volition determine whether to suppress grounds from the idiosyncratic cellphones of ex-officers Corey Weldin and Christopher Tomsic. Attorneys for the erstwhile officers contend the phones were obtained done a hunt warrant that was overly wide and violates California’s integer privateness law.

Additionally, they say, investigators allegedly reviewed confidential attorney-client messages connected the phones arsenic good arsenic the officers’ aesculapian information.

Weldin and Tomsic are accused of spray-painting a swastika connected a conveyance impounded from a theft fishy successful January 2020. The warrant was obtained successful March that twelvemonth with an affidavit that lays retired the genesis of the substance debacle that has made nationalist headlines. About 13 Torrance officers are connected paid permission arsenic the metropolis and the authorities lawyer general analyse the violative texts, which see jokes astir lynchings, gassing Jews and shooting Black men. A Long Beach officer who was a Torrance enlistee has been suspended without pay.

According to the affidavit, obtained by the Southern California News Group, the concatenation of events started astatine 4:07 a.m. Jan. 27, 2020, connected Maricopa Street, wherever 3 men allegedly were stealing boxes from an flat message room. Weldin and Tomsic got the telephone and rushed to the scene.

One of the suspects arrested determination owned a Silver Hyundai Elantra parked connected Maricopa. Tomsic filled retired a California Highway Patrol signifier attesting that the conveyance had not been vandalized, and had it towed by operator Chris Dunn to the impound gait astatine Van Lingen Towing.

The car proprietor arrived 2 days aboriginal to prime up his Hyundai astatine the gait and recovered the backmost bumper was spray painted white, a broadside reflector besides was painted and a swastika and smiley look were drawn connected the upholstered seats. Protein pulverization and adust cereal were scattered passim the car.

The impound gait agreed to wage the proprietor $2,750 for the damage, though determination was nary grounds the concern was astatine fault, said the affidavit.

During an interrogation with investigators, tow operator Dunn initially said helium didn’t cognize thing astir the damage, but aboriginal broke down and said helium saw Tomsic spray coating the extracurricular of the car. Dunn besides received a substance connection from Weldin apologizing for the damage, the affidavit said.

Investigators had Dunn telephone Weldin portion they listened successful connected the call. Weldin did not contradict coating the car adjacent aft the tow operator asked him to “come clean,” said the affidavit.

Dunn past placed a monitored telephone to Tomsic, who tried to blasted Weldin, saying, “Weldin is the instigator of each this. … I’ve been pissed astatine Weldin since then,” according to the affidavit.

Dunn said helium was frustrated that helium was getting blamed for the vandalism. Tomsic answered, “Yeah it was Weldin, dude, I know.”

Investigators concluded that they would astir apt find grounds connected the officers’ cellphones that a felony hatred transgression had been committed.

What they recovered has resulted successful a achromatic oculus for the Torrance Police Department.

“Changes request to beryllium made successful the Torrance Police Department,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said this week successful announcing an autarkic probe into the substance messages.

Attorneys for Weldin and Tomsic did not instrumentality messages seeking comment.

Torrance is nary alien to allegations of racist behaviour by its constabulary officers.

In the mid-1990s, Torrance was deed by a spate of civilian rights lawsuits and complaints, including 1 that contended a Black worker recovered a hangman’s noose dangling supra his desk. Torrance settled immoderate suits, mislaid others and won some, inactive spending hundreds of thousands of dollars successful settlements.

All the while, the metropolis contended officers were guiltless and that each the allegations were fabricated, including 1 that officers had squeezed the testicles of 3 teenage Latino detainees.

U.S. Department of Justice lawyers conducted a two-year probe successful the aboriginal 1990s into section racism that culminated successful a 1993 suit alleging occupation favoritism successful the city’s constabulary and occurrence departments. The metropolis prevailed.

Beverly Hills lawyer Howard Price, who represented galore of the plaintiffs successful the lawsuits, said Friday that the quality of the telephone texts made it look that racism was ingrained successful the department.

“It’s a deep-seated taste problem,” Price said. “This isn’t conscionable a lone wolf, this is simply a immense group.”