The recently fired Oakland police officer accused of posting racist messages to Facebook a dozen years ago appeared to often target Black people and Guatemalans in statements peppered with slurs and expletives, according to a media report.
The officer repeatedly used the n-word and described a “hate” for Black people, according to posts that were captured by Univision. The officer — who has yet to be named by the Oakland Police Department — has been identified by sources as Jocelyn Chang Newman. She graduated in February 2023 from the police department’s 190th Basic Recruit Academy and had been working on patrol, sources said, though it’s unclear where in the city she worked.
Prior to joining OPD, she had a license to work as a security guard in San Francisco, state records show.
The messages obtained by Univision spanned from at least summer 2012 to spring 2013, and included multiple references to Black people as “ignorant.” She also appeared to repeatedly target people from Guatemala, describing “anything tainted” by people from that country as “nasty.”
“Exactly why I f—ing hate black ppl always have to take from hard working ppl/families that’s why karma lands them in a grave,” read one of the messages posted to Facebook in August 2012.
The Oakland Police Department said on Wednesday it had launched an internal affairs investigation on Feb. 2, immediately after a media outlet brought the alleged statements to its attention. The department said it was working with the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office to investigate “any and all cases” that may be impacted by the officer’s alleged conduct.
“We’re going to do every single thing we can to get to the bottom of this,” Interim Assistant Chief Trevelyon Jones said in a recorded statement. “We have to have people here at the Oakland Police Department that love Oakland and care about the community. We cannot have people here who hold racist, hateful views serving our community.”
Check back for updates to this developing story.
