Former San Jose, California, police officer Mark McNamara has resigned after investigators discovered a series of racist text messages between him and a coworker, the San Jose police chief says.
McNamara had been under an internal affairs investigation after shooting and wounding K’aun Green, a Black man, in March 2022. Green was in a restaurant near San Jose University when he disarmed a gunman. As the 20-year-old was walking out of the restaurant backward, holding the gun, McNamara shot him.
The disparaging text messages were discovered during an investigation of an unrelated incident, where McNamara used the n-word several times and referred to Green’s supporters as “African looking Mother F—–s.”
“N–g- wanted to carry a gun in the Wild West,” McNamara said in a text to his colleague.
His colleague appeared to approve of his fellow officer’s actions.
“I was like ‘oh s–t my boy ganked some fool. F–k yea! “the unnamed police officer responded.
Police Chief Anthony Mata confirmed McNamara’s departure in a statement on the San Jose Police Department website.
“Earlier this week, through an unrelated Criminal Investigation into one of our officers, Internal Affairs Investigators discovered that the officer had sent disgusting text messages that demonstrated racial bias. Immediately, Internal Affairs initiated a separate proactive administrative investigation. These messages came to light in the last few days and hours and that officer is no longer employed with the City.”
Mata also addressed the “current employee” who participated in the racist text exchange.
“it was also determined that a current employee who was on the receiving end of some of the messages engaged in other concerning dialogue with the former officer. That employee was immediately placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. “
The texts were sent in June and July while officials were conducting hearings about the officer-related shooting. McNamara shared his experiences with his unidentified colleague.
“Had more court today from blastin’ that fool. This n–ga is asking for 10 million dollars.”
In an interview with KUTV TV, Green said, “I never thought that someone would have so much hatred in their heart.”
Green’s lawyer, Andante Pointer, says the text messages back up their claim that the shooting was racially motivated.
Mata stated that he is “prohibited by law from providing additional details of the case, but he did say that criminal charges “have not been filed nor are anticipated” for either McNamara or the other officer.
Mata’s full message is available on the San Jose Police Department website.
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