NATIONAL CITY, Calif. (KGTV) -- A National City Police Officer has been placed on administrative leave for allegedly using racist and insensitive language during text conversations that surfaced online.
The comments were reportedly made during a private text message conversation between the officer and a member of his family. The texts then surfaced on social media, the department said.
The officer was not identified and the department did not elaborate on the content of the alleged comments.
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The department said it, "takes misconduct allegations by any officer seriously and in no way condones this type of behavior."
The unnamed officer was placed on leave and removed from police duties. The department says it "immediately" opened an Internal Affairs investigation after the allegations surfaced.
“Our department will not tolerate racist and unacceptable epithets made by any member of our organization. We are extremely disappointed that we have to conduct an investigation into one of our officer’s alleged misconduct. However, we want to assure the public and our community that there will be a comprehensive investigation into this matter," Jose Tellez, the Chief of Police said.
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National City Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis echoed the Police Chief's statement, saying the community cannot tolerate "this type of racial bias."
"I’d like to thank Chief of Police Tellez for his swift action on this matter, and I want the National City community to know that we cannot and will not tolerate this type of racial bias (or any bias for that matter) or behavior from our officers, City staff or elected officials," Sotelo-Solis wrote. "As public servants, we must be above reproach and I fully support the investigation that has been prompted by these social media posts."
