San Francisco District Attorney orders massive review of 3,000 arrests made by officers who sent racist and homophobic texts amid fears of wrongful convictions 

• Top judges include former California Supreme Court Associate
• The texts targeted blacks, Mexicans, Filipinos, gay men and women
• Independent review is expected to take until the end of the year   
• 1,600 of the arrests led to convictions, according to the DA's office  

By Kate Pickles and Christopher Brennan For Mailonline

Published: 04:53 EST, 14 May 2015 | Updated: 07:09 EST, 14 May 2015

Review: San Francisco's district attorney George Gascón has ordered a review of 3,000 cases

Investigations will be carried out to determine whether bias led to 3,000 arrests by 14 San Francisco police officers who engaged in racist and homophobic text messages.

San Francisco's district attorney George Gascón appointed three retired judges examine the integrity of the arrests, declaring if one person was wrongly imprisoned because of bias by the officers, 'that's one too many'.  

The move to appoint the three jurists, who include former California Supreme Court Associate Justice Cruz Reynoso, is aimed at helping restore public faith in police, which he said has been compromised by these officers. 

'If we want the public to trust law enforcement we need a culture of justice, transparency and accountability — not bias, secrecy and impunity,' Gascon said. 'The actions of a few have undermined the public's faith in the police officers.' 

The texts included slurs against blacks, Mexicans, Filipinos and gays, and feature officers and civilians repeatedly using the phrase 'white power,' sent between 2011 and 2012.

About 1,600 of the arrests under review have resulted in prosecutions while the rest did not, said Max Szabo, a spokesman for the District Attorney's Office. 

The unpaid judges, all from outside the city, are expected to finish their review by the end of the year. 

It comes amid a series of fatal police confrontations across the country that have put law enforcement agencies under scrutiny over the use of lethal force, especially against minorities, the poor and the mentally ill. 

In March, inmates held in San Francisco's Hall of Justice claimed sheriff's deputies forced them to fight 'gladiator-style.' Public Defender Jeff Adachi, said.

The texts were discovered by federal authorities in a probe of former San Francisco police Sgt. Ian Furminger, who was recently convicted of corruption. The names of the officers under investigation have not been released. 

'Despicable': Police chief Greg Suhr, pictured during an earlier news conference at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco, said the actions clearly fell below the minimum standards needed to be a police officer

Distrust: Three judges have been appointed to review 3,000 arrests in the hope of restoring public confidence in the police service

The new probe forms part of a larger investigation following revelations of faulty testing at the crime lab, and allegations that San Francisco County Sheriff's deputies forced inmates at the county jail to fight 'gladiator-style,' NBC reports.

Police chief Greg Suhr previously called the texts 'despicable' and says those who sent them 'clearly fall below the minimum standards required to be a police officer.' 

Suhr has asked the local Police Commission to fire seven officers and indicated that six others faced lesser discipline. One of the 14 officers has resigned. 

The messages were discovered by federal authorities investigating former sergeant Ian Furminger, who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to 41 months in prison.

'All n*****s must f*****g hang' and 'N*****s must be spayed' were among the texts uncovered. 

The offensive text messages were uncovered after federal corruption charges were brought against former SFPD sergeant Ian Furminger, who was sentenced to 41 months in prison last month

Texts between San Francisco Police Department officers included racist, sexist and homophobic messages

San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr (pictured) said that eight officers had been suspended and that he had recommended they be fired

'It's not against the law to put an animal down,' an officer said, referring to a black man in Furminger's house. 

Other texts were offensive to women and repeatedly used the word f**. 

The eight officers include Captain Jason Fox, 42, a two decade veteran and Sergeant Michael Wibunsin, a 12-year veteran, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's sources.

Officers identified as Michael Robison, 46, a 23-year-veteran, Noel Schwab, 49, a 16-year-veteran and Michael Celis, who has been on the force for 16 years, have reportedly already resigned or said they will resign.

Sean Doherty, an 11-year veteran and Rain Daugherty, a 15-year-officer, are also facing termination.

Robison, Schwab and Celis have reportedly already resigned.

Michael Robison, 46, a 23-year veteran of the force, has resigned. He gave an interview to the Advocate in 1999 (pictured) about being a gay officer. He said 'the 'good ol' boys' system is on its way out'

The eighth officer has not yet been identified, and was not aware about possible dismissal as of Friday. 

Robison is openly gay and told the LGBT magazine The Advocate in 1998: 'The 'good ol' boys' system is on its way out, and the newer generation that's replaced them sees things from a more open-minded standpoint' 

He was accused of using a racial epithet against a suspect in the mid 1990s but the allegation was dismissed. 

In 2007 an officer named Jason Fox was accused of hitting a gay man's head against the wall and using his hair to clean up urine on the street outside a club.

'Do you think we want your AIDS-infected pee on our streets?' Fox allegedly said. 

Expectation: San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi previously called for reviews

He did not face police department discipline in the case because the statute of limitations had passed.

Police commissioners at the time reached a $83,000 out of court settlement with the gay man.

The SFPD did not respond to a request for comment from Daily Mail Online about whether the incident involved the same Jason Fox accused in the text message scandal. 

Minutes from a San Francisco Family Violence Council meeting show that Fox was promoted from lieutenant to captain in 2013. 

Celis was suspended in 2004 after an incident when he tried to use his badge and pay a bribe to get into his wife's hotel room. 

Wibunsin and several other officers were accused of stealing $10,000 while executing a search warrant in 2011. 

Public Defender Jeff Adachi previously said he expected more than 1,000 cases where the officers testified to be reviewed. 

He has called for the Department of Justice to investigate San Francisco's police as it did with officers in Ferguson, Missouri, according to KQED.

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