Torrance Police Department
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Torrance Police Department | |
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The Torrance Police Department is the police department serving Torrance, California.
The department employs 227 sworn officers and 124 civilians. The department is the largest law enforcement agency in South Bay, and is one of the largest police departments in
Since June 2021, the
Overview
The Torrance Police Department has jurisdiction in the city limits of Torrance. Other sections with a "Torrance, CA" address are served by either the
Officers carry the
Bureaus/Units
- Administrative Bureau; consisting of the Personnel, Research & Training and Records Divisions
- Support Services Bureau; consisting of the Communications and Services Divisions
- Patrol Bureau; consisting of the Patrol and Community Affairs Divisions
- Special Operations Bureau; consisting of the Special Investigations and Detective Divisions
- Special Units include; Robbery/Homicide, Cold Case Homicide, SWAT, Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT), K-9, Motors, School Resource Officer (SRO), Community Lead Officer (CLO), etc...
Controversy
During the massive multi-agency manhunt for
Torrance police officers first rammed the truck with their car, then opened fire. The vehicle was being driven by David Perdue who was on his way to the beach for some early morning surfing before work. Police claim that Perdue's pickup truck "matched the description"[2] of the one belonging to Dorner. However, the Los Angeles Times reports that "the pickups were different makes and colors ... Perdue looks nothing like Dorner: He's several inches shorter and about a hundred pounds lighter ... Perdue is white; Dorner is black."[2]
Six months after the assault, the police paid Perdue $20,000 for the damage to his truck. The city has offered Perdue a half million dollars to settle the case, but he insists on almost four million dollars. As of August 2013[update], the city has not allowed outside investigators to see the truck.[3]
In contrast, the Los Angeles Police Department paid two women who were attacked a sum of $4.2 million in damages without going to court.[3]
Texting scandal
In 2021, an investigation into the Torrance Police Department found that at least 18 current and former police officers and recruits were involved in an exchange of racist and homophobic texts that promoted violence and
Two more officers involved in the scandal, Cody Weldin and Christopher Tomsic, were fired by the department and charged by the district attorney's office in 2020 for their part in a vandalism of a Jewish suspect's car. Kiley Swaine and two of his friends were arrested by Weldin and Tomsic in January 2020 for suspected
In popular culture
In the 2015 film
See also
References
- ^ Search for killings suspect leads to shootings in South Bay Orange County Register. February 7, 2013. Accessed February 11, 2013
- ^ a b Faturechi, Robert (2013-02-09). "Police seeking Dorner opened fire in a second case of mistaken identity". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
- ^ a b Torrance pays for truck of man mistakenly shot during Dorner hunt, by Joel Rubin,LA Times, 18 August 2013
- ^ Queally, James (December 8, 2021). "Torrance police traded racist, homophobic texts. It could jeopardize hundreds of cases". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Queally, James (March 20, 2023). "Grand jury to examine fatal shooting involving Torrance cops tied to racist text scandal". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
- ^ Queally, James (April 13, 2023). "Torrance police officers indicted in 2018 killing of Christopher Deandre Mitchell". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
- ^ Wu, Daniel (March 21, 2023). "City will pay $750K after police allegedly drew swastika in man's car". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.