SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) – On Thursday, the Santa Clara County District Attorney announced he is dismissing cases filed by officers from a South Bay police department.
The officers were involved in posting racist statements on social media.
Over a dozen criminal cases handled by five active-duty San Jose police officers are being dismissed by Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen.
The move is the result of an investigation by the D.A.’s office into racist posts on a social media site that was discovered over the summer.
“Our community has the right for the convictions that we seek in the D.A.’s office to be untainted by prejudice. It is my obligation to make sure that the convictions that we obtain are untainted by prejudice,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.
The social media posts were filled with Islamophobic and anti-Black language. Leaders from both communities say the D.A. did not go far enough.
“The D.A.’s decision is an important step in the right direction but it is not enough. A police officer joking about violence against women who wear headscarves. Strangle her with that head scarf. Cover her face with that. As a woman who wears a headscarf and lives in San Jose I was horrified,” Zahra Billoo, whose on the council on Islamic-American relations, said.
“I believe this will continue to allow some officers to push it to the extreme,” Jethroe Moore, with the N.A.A.C.P., said.
The president of the union that represents San Jose police thinks the D.A. made a political decision that goes too far. His statement reads in part:
“His recent decision to not to file on stand alone 148PC, resisting arrest charges, will cause injuries to officers and escalate the use of force against suspects.”
According to police union, two of the four officers involved are back on duty after being completely exonerated, and the internal police investigation and administrative reviews are ongoing.