The Torrance Police Department has entered a five-year agreement with the California Department of Justice to implement reforms, following a 2021 scandal that found more than a dozen police officers had been exchanging racist, anti-Semitic, and homophobic text messages.

The reforms include:

Revising the agency’s use-of-force training.

Creating an independent oversight body, like a civilian review board.

Expanding data collection to help identify trends of racial bias.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the agreement aims to address systemic issues.

“ There are specific incidents that of course, were unacceptable and disgusting … but those were symptoms of a broader challenge and problem of culture,” Bonta said Thursday.

The discovery of racist text messages involving a g

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