Two former Torrance police officers have been charged with spray-painting a swastika on the interior of a civilian's car, prosecutors announced Thursday.
Cody Weldin, 28, and Christopher Tomsic, 29, have each been charged with counts of conspiracy and vandalism in connection with the incident. Both have pleaded not guilty.
A statement released by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office said that the defendants were part of a group of Torrance Police Department officers who responded to a Jan. 27, 2020 call about three men who had allegedly stolen mail from an apartment complex. The officers found a vehicle on the scene they believed was used in the alleged crime.
Weldin and Tomsic had the vehicle taken to a tow yard. When the owner arrived to pick it up, he discovered that a smiley face symbol had been spray painted on the front passenger seat and a swastika symbol on the rear seat.
The swastika was a political symbol of the Nazi regime in Germany; it remains a symbol of neo-Nazi and white supremacist movements around the world.
Prosecutors have suggested that Weldin and Tomsic were the only ones to have access to the vehicle's interior between just prior to towing and after pick up.
"Immediately upon learning of the reprehensible allegations in 2020, the Torrance Police Department opened a criminal investigation and the officers were put on leave," said Torrance police Sgt. Mark Ponegalek in a statement. Ponegalek added that the officers no longer work for the Torrance Police Department and that they have cooperated with prosecutors' investigation thus far.
District Attorney George Gascón has announced that his office will conduct a review of hundreds of cases involving the ex-officers to see if any related conduct may have contaminated arrests or convictions.