Gay San Francisco cop involved in texting scandal resigns

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- One of four officers implicated in the San Francisco Police Department texting scandal has resigned.

While the police commission can no longer investigate his actions, a San Francisco supervisor says this is not over.

The president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, London Breed, told ABC7 News although Officer Michael Robison may have avoided disciplinary action on the texting, the cases he worked on are now under a microscope.

"This is not completely over just because an officer resigns or even if they all resign," Breed said.

Robison is 46 years old and an openly gay member of the San Francisco police force since 1992. According to his attorney, he has now resigned.

Robison, and at least three other officers, are being investigated in connection with racist and homophobic text messages.

A spokesperson for the police department says because Robison no longer works for the department, he's no longer part of the internal investigation.

Regardless, Breed says his cases need to be reviewed for possible bias. She said there were "really disrespectful comments toward African Americans, and we're talking about a large number of cases involving African Americans, and so I have a real concern about that."

At UC Hastings Law School Thursday night, professors addressed the issue in a discussion on police and race.

"The problem really is, of course it is that people say these things, but the serious problem is that people think these things," said UC Hastings law professor Hadar Aviram.

Aviram says looking at the individuals is one thing, but it's more important to look at the entire police department.

"What sort of organizational culture makes people feel comfortable espousing these opinions in texts, thinking that they can get away with this?" Aviram said.

The texts were released by federal prosecutors during a bail hearing last week for former Officer Ian Furminger, who's been convicted of public corruption.