Racist Texts by San Francisco Pigs Advocate Killing Black People
March 31, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
In speaking to the situation facing Black and Latino people in the U.S.—mass incarceration and the school-to-prison pipeline, the criminalization and demonization of a whole generation of youth, the overt or just-below-the-surface racism prevalent in society, etc.—Carl Dix of the Revolutionary Communist Party has said what is taking place is a slow genocide that could easily become a fast genocide. The word “genocide” comes from the ancient root words “genos” (people) and “cide” (killing)—according to the UN, genocide is the deliberate imposition on a national, ethnic, racial or religious group of “conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” This regular feature highlights aspects of this slow genocide.
From a reader:
Disgusting and outrageous racist texts by San Francisco police have been exposed. These pigs’ texts advocate the murder of Black people and openly support the KKK. Gay people, women, Latinos and Filipinos were also the target of slurs.
These texts were first revealed in mid-March in a court filing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of a criminal corruption case against Sgt. Ian Furminger. Furminger was recently convicted of stealing cash, electronic devices and gift cards from residents of a single room occupancy hotel in the Tenderloin, one of the poorest parts of San Francisco. Four other officers have been identified as part of the racist texting. All of these racist pigs have been stalking the people for more than 10 years.
Now the media reports that 10 more cops, including a police captain, may be involved.
Here are some of the texts. The “N word” is included as used by the police.
- In response to a text saying “Niggers should be spayed,” Furminger wrote, “I saw one an hour ago with 4 kids.”
- Furminger wrote, “Cross burning lowers blood pressure! I did the test myself!”
- In response to a text saying “All niggers must fucking hang,” Furminger wrote, “Ask my 6 year old what he thinks about Obama.”
- In response to a text saying “Just boarded train at Mission/16th,” Furminger wrote “Ok, just watch out for BM’s [black males].”
- Furminger wrote, “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 nigger.”
- 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.”
- Furminger wrote, “Its [sic] worth every penny to live here [Walnut Creek] away from the savages.”
How many people have been brutalized, arrested and jailed by these cops? Officials have identified more than 120 cases of people jailed in cases involving these five officers in the last two years. San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi estimated that the number of cases involving these cops could rise to more than 1,000. And if more officers are found to be part of this then the number could rise much higher.
What does it say that cops can routinely send these kinds of repulsive and violent texts in an era when everyone knows they can be made public? Could cops who text messages like these hide this racism while on the job? Why have no cops spoken out against these texts and about racism in the SFPD?
Peter Satina, a Deputy Public Defender in San Francisco, wrote in a recent op-ed in the San Francisco Examiner, “I am not shocked at the revelation there is a white-power network within the Police Department.” He goes on to say that based on his experience, the text messages “are merely part of the fabric of institutional racism that permeates every aspect of the San Francisco criminal justice system.”
Pigs spouting racist text messages are not unique to San Francisco. Racism is deeply ingrained in police departments nationwide. In early March, there were revelations of racist emails regularly sent among police and court officials in Ferguson, Missouri. (See “Department of Justice on Ferguson: A Sliver of Truth About the Thoroughly Racist, Rotten Police Department.”. Last week in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, three police officers were caught exchanging racist texts, including ones that talked about getting drunk and “killing niggers” and saying, “Id (sic) have that noose ready.”
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