In San Jose, California, a police officer was terminated following the discovery of racially biased text messages, according to a Friday press release.
Former Officer Mark McNamara was allegedly involved in the texts, which surfaced during an unrelated criminal probe, leading to a distinct investigation into his conduct, San Jose Chief of Police Anthony Mata said in the press release.
McNamara was put on administrative leave after being involved in a March 2022 shooting, in which he allegedly shot a man who had disarmed an attacker at La Victoria Taqueria, mistaking him for a homicide suspect, according to a police briefing.
“N***a wanted to carry a gun in the Wild West,” one of the text messages McNamara allegedly sent a day after the shooting read. “Not on my watch haha.”
A message from July 2023 stated, “I hate black people,” with McNamara explicitly identifying as “white” in another.
A California officer is off the force after sending a slew of “disgusting” text messages to a colleague after he was involved in the shooting of a college football player, including one that said, “I hate black people.”
Ex-San Jose cop Mark McNamara resigned after it emerged… pic.twitter.com/XS8i3sHiza
— Paul Kang (@LPaulKang) November 5, 2023
Another officer, recipient of some texts, is now under investigation and on leave. Chief Mata emphasized “zero tolerance” for racial bias in the San Jose Police Department, crediting their new early warning system for uncovering the misconduct. (RELATED: Police Officer Arrested After Allegedly Running Red Light, Causing Fatal Crash, Cops Say)
“If any employee’s racial bias rears its ugly head, rest assured that I will take immediate action to ensure they are not part of this organization,” Mata said in the statement.
The police chief added that “criminal charges [against McNamara] have not been filed nor are anticipated at this time.”