Racism In The Mission Police

Disgraced Mission Police Supervisor Exchanged Racist, Homophobic Text Messages With Other Cops

A former supervisor in the Mission Station’s plainclothes unit has been accused of exchanging racist and homophobic text messages with four other police officers. The officer, Ian Furminger, was convicted last December of conspiracy and wire fraud and is currently appealing his conviction. Federal prosecutors, in responding to this appeal, included the text messages in a court filing made public this past Friday.

According to KQED News:

The texts show Furminger and other San Francisco police officers repeatedly swapping slurs about black people and gay people, including other police officers. In one exchange on Nov. 9, 2011, Furminger writes about his son’s school:

“We got two blacks at my boys school and they are brother and sister! There cause dad works for the school district and I am watching them like hawks.”

The response, from an unnamed civilian: “Do you celebrate qaunza [sic] at your school?”

Furminger: “Yeah we burn the cross on the field! Then celebrate Whitemas … Its worth every penny to live here [Walnut Creek] away from the savages.”

Through an attorney, Furminger attempted to distance himself from his own messages:

“Ian Furminger is not a racist or homophobe,” Goldrosen wrote in an email. “His closest friends, both at work and in his social life, include many people of different races and sexual orientations.”

The four officers Furminger exchanged messages with are Michael Robison, Michael Celis, Rain Daugherty, and Noel Schwab. Despite the messages’ offensive nature—and the apparent racist hatred these officers showed for many in the community they swore to protect—none of the officers have been removed from active duty. They have been reassigned, pending the results of an internal investigation.

This played out “but some of my closest friends are black” from Furminger dove-tails nicely with the equally tired “he didn’t mean any of those awful racist things he said” line we hear from Alison Wilkinson, an attorney representing Rain Daugherty. Again, KQED News:

“Officer Daugherty is appropriately ashamed by his impulsive and insensitive banter,” Wilkinson wrote, “and accepts full responsibility for the content of those text messages that he sent, which are by no means a reflection of his true character or his style of policing.”

The text messages, obtained by KQED News, can be read in their entirety below beginning on page 10.

[Photo: Margie Shafer]

Comments (3)

Fucking Christ

The Furminger rabbit-hole goes down so much farther than this, even.  Those of you with long memories might find that this rings a bell:

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Ad-Exec-Shot-Dead-In-Conflict-With-Po…

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Police-Looking-For-Motives-of-Slain-A…

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Shooting-victim-Adouble-life-3064739.php

The cop who pulled the trigger on John Smart?  Our old pal, above.

At the time, Furminger’s story that John Smart attempted to run him down and that he killed Smart in self-defense was basically un-challenged, and he and his partner were decorated for the shooting.

Given what we know about Furminger now, there is no. fucking. way. that the Smart shooting was clean, and it smells like a shake-down gone wrong.

Who can put up with this shit