Two former police officers have been charged with vandalism for allegedly spray-painting an impounded vehicle with a swastika, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon announced Thursday.
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Cody Weldin, 28, and Christopher Tomsic, 29, face felony charges of vandalism and conspiracy to commit vandalism. The two men, who left the Torrance Police Department last year, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The District Attorney's office has identified hundreds of other cases that the two officers were involved in, and that will be reviewed for misconduct, according to a statement.
"We have seen an increase in hate crimes, not only in our own home town but around the country. And it's unacceptable," Gascon said. "But it becomes doubly unacceptable when we have the people that are sworn to protect all of us who engage in this behavior."
Torrance Police Chief Jeremiah Hart said at a joint news conference that 13 other officers had been placed on administrative leave after the investigation into Weldin and Tomsic revealed that these other officers reportedly exchanged racist, antisemitic and homophobic messages.
Hart asserted that the Torrance Police Department has a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior.
"Let me be clear, I will aggressively pursue any form of racism, bigotry, hate or misconduct at the Torrance Police Department," he said.
The Anti-Defamation League also weighed in on the alleged incident involving Weldin and Tomsic.
"No matter the source of hate, we must stand up and denounce it," it said in a statement. "We are heartened that these officers are facing consequences for their reported hateful actions."
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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