San Francisco Police Officers Are Suspended Over Skits

New York Times: "
The videos include scenes of uniformed and plainclothes officers mocking the homeless, women, Asians, African-Americans and gay men. In one segment, a mock scene has a black woman yelling after apparently having been hit by a patrol car.

Officials withheld the names of all but one suspended officer, Andrew Cohen, 39, who taped and edited the videos and posted them on his personal Web site. Officer Cohen and most of the others worked at the Bayview Hunters Point station, in a largely black and low-income district with a high crime rate.

Sgt. Joe Reilly, secretary of the San Francisco Police Commission, said it was likely that the suspensions would be referred to the panel, which has the final word on discipline. Important questions, Sergeant Reilly said, would be whether the officers were on duty, , whether Officer Cohen or others used department equipment and whether the racial or sexual references could be construed as violating the police code.