New racist texts reveal Torrance cops talked about hurting and killing Black suspects

LOS ANGELES — The day after Torrance police shot Christopher DeAndre Mitchell in 2018, his mother and a dozen of his loved ones staged a protest outside the department's headquarters.

At the same time, a group of officers — including the two who had killed Mitchell — were discussing the situation via text message.

"Was going to tell you all those (N-word) family members are all pissed off in front of the station," one wrote, according to court documents recently reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.

Court records show the officers later mused about what might happen once the identities of those who shot the 23-year-old became public.

"Gun cleaning Party at my house when they release my name??" one asked.

"Yes absolutely let's all just post in your yard with lawn chairs in a (firing) squad," another replied.

Eight months ago, a Los Angeles Times investigation revealed portions of racist and homophobic text messages exchanged by at least a dozen Torrance police officers, a scandal that sparked an investigation by the California attorney general's office.

Criminal cases in which the officers were involved continue to be dismissed, and at least one man has been released from prison. Lawsuits filed against officers involved have already cost Torrance more than $10 million. Still, most of the officers implicated remain employed by the city.

The state attorney general's office filed a subpoena in May for thousands of pages of Torrance police records, but officials have declined to provide updates on