Nicholas Goldberg: LA's district attorney explains the persistent racism in police culture

George Gascón, the district attorney of Los Angeles County, is appalled by the virulently racist text messages that went back and forth among more than a dozen Torrance police officers.

And who wouldn't be? It's sickening to read the texts. The references to apes, savages, nooses and the N-word, not to mention the cavalier discussion of racial violence — this is discourse of a sort rarely aired in public. It's not veiled prejudice; it's not "structural racism" or "implicit bias." This is full-on hate speech by police officers against the citizens they're supposed to be protecting.