Two former Torrance police officers pleaded guilty to accusing them of spray painting Swastika inside their car in 2020. This is a vandalism incident that revealed that police officers were part of a massive text thread in which urban police officers used racist and homophobic slurs and made jokes about killing black men.
Cody Weldin, 31, and Christopher Tomsick, 32, each pleaded guilty to one count of felony vandalism. They must spend two years on probation and waive their right to serve as law enforcement officers in California, subject to the terms of the plea. Tom Chick and Weldin will also need to abandon firearms, complete 100 hours of community service, 15 hours of anti-racism training, and take a tour of West Los Angeles’ Tolerance Museum.
In 2021, two former staff members were accused of spray painting the sw into a vehicle towed from the scene of mail theft. Victim Kylie Swain later filed a lawsuit accusing officer of illegally searching his car, pointing out that his grandfather is Jewish and expressing fear in his life due to the officer’s actions.
Tomsic and Weldin refused to be interviewed outside the court, but their lawyers both said the former officers believe the plea agreement is a fair resolution.
Lisa Hall said Tomsick “effectively accepted responsibility from the start of the incident.”
“He regrets and apologises to the Torrance Police Department and the community for the harm he caused and the trust he violated,” she said.
Tom Yu, who represented Weldin, said he was happy that his client could “go on his life.”
A search warrant, carried out as part of an investigation into vandalism, led to an awkward discovery. Officers used racist and homophobic slander, joking about beating suspects and racially profiled, and in some cases fantasized about killing black people.
According to records previously obtained by The Times, “Lucky wasn’t out,” he wrote in response to a text that a black man was robbing someone in Torrance, according to records previously obtained. “The DA Shooting Team asked why they were all hooked up on the rope and each shot in the back of their heads in eight times.”
In another conversation about unnecessarily beating a female suspect, Sgt. Brian Kawamoto said that he wanted Torrance to be great again, a play with President Trump’s ubiquitous campaign slogan.
“In this case, as soon as we learn of the accusable allegations, the Torrance Police detectives brought criminal charges, and ultimately the guilty plea of today. “The Torrance Police Department holds officers at the highest standards of police, including treating all members of the public with respect in protecting the safety of our community.”
The previous survey, which identified most of the text chain executives, found that several officers in the group were involved in at least seven serious use cases in Torrance and Long Beach between 2013 and 2021. Three of these incidents ended with the deaths of black and Latino men.
Tomsic and Weldin are the first of five officers linked to the scandal of criminally convicted. Three other people await trial.
David Chandler was charged with the attack for shooting a black man in 2018, but the man was experiencing a mental health crisis at his grandmother’s home. Prosecutors said the victim was swinging a knife around, but no one was threatening at the time of the shooting. The judge supported the charges of the attack at a preliminary hearing in 2023.
Matthew Concanon and Anthony Chavez are awaiting trial on manslaughter in the 2018 murder of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell. Mitchell, a suspect in the car, was parked in Ralph’s parking lot when he was killed. Neither officer claimed that Mitchell grabbed or pointed to the weapon before he began firing, records show.
According to records previously obtained by The Times, in the text thread, we used N-Word to describe Mitchell’s relatives. The name of the officer who sent the text message was edited on the record. Concanon was investigated as part of the scandal, but his lawyers say he did not send racist texts.
LA County prosecutors initially refused to indict officers, but formerly Dist. Atty. George Gascon resumed the case, and the large ju judge indicted Conanon and Chavez in 2023. The current district. Atty. Nathan Hochman fired the special prosecutor who filed those charges late last year, but he appointed a replacement that currently oversees the case.
“Destroying property with hateful messages is condemned and violates the oath that police officers sworn to maintain the law, protect and serve the community,” Hochman said. “I commend the Torrance Police Department for taking prompt action against these officers to exempt them from their duties and thanking Saeed Teimouli and John Pereno, Associate District Attorneys of the Judicial System Integrity Division of our office, for holding these officers accountable.
Dozens of criminal cases had to be abandoned for the officer’s remarks, and some of the people involved were fired. Apart from Tomsic and Weldin, seven other officers related to the scandal had the ability to become California police officers temporarily suspended by a state committee on standards and training for peace officers. A committee spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The board’s disciplinary record, released earlier this year, identified Weldin as the “owner” of the group texts in which many of the racist comments were discovered. The group was called “boys,” records show. His lawyers simply meant that Weldin has started a text thread.
Atty, California. General Rob Bonta announced the Torrance Police Department investigation in December 2021, the day the Times first revealed what the text thread was about. None of the findings have been published and it is unknown that they will affect what the probe has achieved. A spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office said this week he could not comment on the ongoing investigation.
Ahmad said Torrance Police Chief Jeremiah Hart contacted the state Attorney General’s Office shortly after the scandal surfaced in 2021 and officially made an agreement with the California Department of Justice in 2022.
“We are working with DOJ throughout the process, providing full access to the department, employees and records,” Ahmad says. “The goal is to work with the DOJ to ensure that the Torrance Police Department promotes public safety while ensuring that the public is treated with respect.”
Times staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this report.
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