Torrance pays $750k to owner of car painted with swastika by cops

[SunSeeker]

The city of Torrance has paid $750,000 to the owner of an impounded car that allegedly was spray-painted by police with a swastika in 2020. The payment settles a $6 million federal lawsuit by car owner Kiley Swaine, who did not learn of the alleged involvement of two former Torrance police officers until nearly two years after the damage to his 2004 Hyundai Elantra.

The swastika incident led to the discovery that some officers were engaging in racist and homophobic text messages, including jokes about having “gassed the Jews,” urinating on a Black man and beating up a woman.

The texts featured several variations of the n-word and referred to detainees as “monkeys,” “moon crickets”  and “savages.” So far, at least four officers have been terminated or resigned in the aftermath of the scandal. Fifteen officers had been placed on leave pending an investigation.

“I have been suing police officers for 39 years and I have never seen anything like this,” said Swaine’s attorney, Jerry Steering of Newport Beach. “It never ceases to amaze me that quite often the very people entrusted by our citizens to protect us from dangerous criminals are more dangerous than the criminals.”

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/03/15/torrance-pays-750000-to-owner-of-car-allegedly-painted-with-swastika-by-police-officers/?utm_email=24187445D41C24C5440EA4500A&active=yesD&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=City+pays+%24750%2c000+to+owner+of+car+allegedly+painted+with+swastika+by+ex-cops+&utm_campaign=scng-mult-localist-deepdive&utm_content=curated

[Phoenix61]

1. They should never be allowed to resign. nt

[SunSeeker]

2. Fortunately, the 2 cops who painted the swastika have been charged.

Two former Torrance officers, Cody Weldin and Christopher Tomsic, have been charged with felony conspiracy and vandalism in the swastika incident. They are scheduled to appear in Los Angeles County Superior Court on March 29 and are awaiting a preliminary hearing.

So resigning did not save them.

[2live is 2fly]

4. "So resigning did not save them." Save them from what? Being fired? When cops resign they

usually (in most jurisdictions) receive a generous pension and a Badge that says retired on it along with the right to carry a concealed weapon (handgun). I don't think there's much if any difference between a cop retiring at 30, or whatever and doing so at 65. Can only hope that California is different.

[SunSeeker]

7. Resigning normally saves them from being fired, so they can more easily be hired elsewhere.

You definitely get a lesser retirement at 30 than at 65. In CA, cops generally get a pretty sweet retirement plan that lets them retire at 50 with almost a full paycheck as pension. Same with our Highway Patrol. In CA, under our PERS (Public Employee Retirement System), your pension amount is based on a formula that takes into account the number of years of your public service. The more years, the higher the pension.

[Scottie Mom]

3. Wow! 😲

Torrance is my neck of the woods. I knew that the Torrance PD has a lot of assholes in it, but this is so way over the top!

Hard for me to understand how people can think and act like that. Just shocks me. Seems like tRump made it OK to be total racist pieces of shit.

[SunSeeker]

6. It appears at least 19 officers were found to have been involved in racist acts.

From the article:

The swastika incident led to the discovery that some officers were engaging in racist and homophobic text messages, including jokes about having “gassed the Jews,” urinating on a Black man and beating up a woman.

The texts featured several variations of the n-word and referred to detainees as “monkeys,” “moon crickets” and “savages.” So far, at least four officers have been terminated or resigned in the aftermath of the scandal. Fifteen officers had been placed on leave pending an investigation.

Torrance PD is not that big of a police force. That is a big percentage of racist cops on that force.

[Zorro]

5. A Clockwork Orange was prescient