Torrance police agree to reform

The resolution with Bonta's office follows a scandal involving racist text messages.

- BY JAMES QUEALLY

MYUNG J. CHUN Los Angeles Times
ATTY. GEN. Rob Bonta announced the completion of a review of the Torrance Police Department.

The Torrance Police Department and the California attorney general’s office have entered into an “enforceable agreement” meant to reform the troubled agency following a scandal that led prosecutors to toss dozens of criminal cases linked to officers who sent racist text messages, officials said.

Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced the reforms which will include changes to the agency's use-of-force and internal affairs practices, along with the creation of an external oversight body and the appointment of a third-party monitor during a news conference in downtown Los Angeles on Thursday morning.

Bonta credited former Torrance Police Chief Jeremiah Hart with approaching him after the scandal erupted in 2021, leading to collaborative reform efforts.

“The Torrance Police Department has demonstrated a commitment to self-reflection to looking inward ... to address systemic challenges,” Bonta said Thursday.

Bonta and interim Torrance Police Chief Bob Dunn said the changes would play out over five years. The attorney general promised a cultural shift in a city that was rocked by the comments of officers who appeared to hate a sizable chunk of the community they were hired to protect.

The California attorney general's office announced its Torrance investigation in December 2021, the same day a Times investigation first revealed the contents of the text messages and the names of most of the officers involved. Court records and documents obtained by The Times showed the officers made offensive comments about a wide range of groups. They joked about “gassing” Jewish people, attacking members of the LGBTQ+ community and using violence against suspects.