OAN’s Abril Elfi
10:18 AM – Sunday, November 5, 2023
A California police officer has resigned from the force after a series of racist text messages were revealed following his involvement in the shooting of a college football player.
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San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata announced on Friday that Mark McNamara, the police officer involved in a shooting involving a former football player, is no longer working with them after a message exchange shows him sending a text that read “I hate black people.”
In a news release, snippets of a text thread between McNamara and another unnamed employee of the police department were shared following the March 27, 2022 shooting at La Victoria Taqueria, which left K’aun Green, a Contra Costa College defensive linebacker severely injured.
Mata addressed the situation, informing the public that “racial bias” has no place in the police department.
“I am committed, as your Police Chief, that I will rid our ranks of individuals who act in a manner counter to the mission and values of our department,” Mata said in a written statement. “If any employee’s racial bias rears its ugly head, rest assured that I will take immediate action to ensure they are not part of this organization.”
Media reports stated that the former officer resigned earlier this week after he discovered that he was being investigated by the Internal Affairs unit. McNamara was one of the officers that shot Green four times in the back, abdomen, and arm at La Vic.
According to footage and his lawyers, there was a brawl in the taqueria that night, and Green ended up wrestling a gun away from the true shooter. On security video, he was seen walking out of the taco business backwards, holding the confiscated gun.
Police responded quickly and claimed they shot Green because a killing had occurred approximately 30 minutes earlier a block away, and they suspected the two incidents were connected and an active gunman was on the loose.
These two situations turned out to be unrelated.
When it was revealed that Green had actually grabbed the pistol away from the gunman, authorities did not change their story to reflect the truth. Furthermore, the police department did not notify Green about the racist texts on Friday night, despite the fact that his attorneys were.
In a text message dated the day after the shooting, McNamara appears to be talking about Green saying “N—- wanted to carry a gun in the Wild West … Not on my watch,” and “I hate black (sic) people.”
Other texts appear to have been sent in June 2023, while McNamara was being examined by the San Jose city attorney and Green’s lawyers, Alexander, Adante Pointer, and Patrick Buelna, who sued the city over the shooting.
The text include some that say:
“There was like 65 African lookin’ [sic] mother fuckers there too. All just mean mugging me and taking notes. They should all be bowing to me and brining [sic] me gifts since I saved a fellow n—a by making him rich as fuck. Otherwise he woulda [sic] lived a life of poverty and crime.”
“The other day this n— lawyer is like Mr McNamara, you know we can still find you guilty of excessive force right? I’m like, hmmm yeah then (what) happens?? … Think I give a f—- what y’all n—- think?!???? I’ll shoot you too!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!!”
McNamara further stated that Green should be thanking him for shooting him and that he is unconcerned about what occurred.
“I finally had to tell this city attorney what’s what,” McNamara texted. “I’m like dude, I don’t give a shit about this case. I’m white, he’s black, he’s gonna win. AND I DONT CARE. It’s a b—- whatever they decide has no bearing on me what so ever. It’s basically kangaroo court.”
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan (D-Calif.) responded to the situation, saying “there is nothing more sickening than a person in power abusing their position… I will sleep better tonight knowing that this individual is no longer carrying a badge and a gun.”
Mata said criminal charges over the texts have not been filed nor are any anticipated to be.
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