San Francisco Investigates Police Racism: 3,000 Cases Under Review

San Francisco officials are investigating racist and homophobic text messages involving 14 San Francisco police officers, according to reports. The probe will look into 3,000 arrests identified by authorities that could have been influenced by bias and resulted in wrongful convictions.

District Attorney George Gascon announced Thursday has so far identified 3,000 criminal cases that could have been affected by perceived bias by 14 officers.

Investigators in a task force he created are combing through each case to determine whether some convictions must be overturned or pending cases dismissed.

Cases involving individuals who are incarcerated will be moved to the top of the list, he said.

Gascon said in cases where evidence is in question, his task force will - and already is - providing that information to defense attorneys.

"In the last few months, we have seen city after city where police use of force or other police activity is coming to the light and indicating that racial animosity and other types of biases play a significant role," he said. "I think at one point we felt we would be immune from that type of activity," Gascon said.

The investigation by the panel will now be broadened to include an examination of whether entrenched biases exist in the 2,000-member department.

"If just one individual was wrongly imprisoned because of bias on the part of these officers, that's one too many," Mr. Gascón said. "What is the potential impact in our justice system when a juror in a criminal trial questions the credibility of the arresting officer on the evidence that is being presented because they believe that this process may have been influenced by racial or homophobic bias? Can justice prevail under such conditions? Probably not."