Racial slurs by cops becoming more unacceptable
By Cindy Chang and Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times
In Santa Clara County, jail guards sent text messages using racial slurs to describe African Americans, Jews and Vietnamese Americans.
In San Francisco, as many as 19 police officers have been implicated in a texting scandal involving racial and homophobic insults.
Recent controversies over emails and texts show how the intense scrutiny currently faced by police officers has extended beyond their actions on patrol and into communications that some thought were private.
The shift has come as police departments nationwide are trying to address the attitudes of officers before problems on the streets arise. Among other things, agencies have adopted training that examines implicit biases and have pushed to hire more minority recruits.