Three Police Officers Fired, Another Resigns After Racist Videos, Text Messages Discovered
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iStock/Thinkstock(FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.) — Three police officers have been fired and another resigned after a series of racist text messages and videos were uncovered at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.
Mayor Jack Seiler said he was “disappointed, disgusted and shocked” by the incident. Among the findings of an investigation were a video in which one officer mocks President Obama and other African Americans. The video contains racial slurs.
Three other officers were caught sending racist text messages.
An investigation was launched in October 2014 after officials received a tip about racist text messages being sent between officers. The tip was brought to the FLPD by the ex-fiance of one of the officers.
The fired officers were identified on Friday as Jason Holding, 31, James Wells, 30, and Christopher Souza, 25. A fourth officer, Alex Alvarez, resigned in January during the investigation. Alvarez was responsible for the racist video.
The city of Fort Lauderdale now intends to mandate diversity and tolerance training.
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