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Board recommends revocation of Torrance officer Brian Kawamoto’s POST certificate after text-message evidence
Summary
The advisory board voted unanimously to recommend revocation of Brian Kawamoto’s POST certification after POST presented text-message exchanges that the division said demonstrated racial bias and violated Torrance Police Department policies.
The Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) advisory board on July 16 voted to recommend revocation of the certification of former Torrance Police Department officer Brian Keith Kawamoto after the division presented text-message exchanges it said demonstrated bias and were inconsistent with a peace officer’s duty to act impartially.
POST law enforcement consultant Robbie Bringoff and legal staff presented the division’s investigation, citing multiple messages sent between March and December 2019 that used racial epithets and joked about violence toward members of protected groups. The division concluded those communications undercut public confidence in Kawamoto’s ability to perform law-enforcement duties fairly.
The nut graf: the board’s action follows POST’s finding that exchanges — including the use of the slur-like term “moon crickets,” a meme referencing lynching imagery, and repeated disparaging messages about Black people — showed prejudice and, in the division’s view, met the statutory standard for “demonstrating bias” set out in POST’s cited authorities.
During the presentation Bringoff read excerpts from internal affairs interviews and message threads, including the March 25, 2019, exchange in which Kawamoto replied to a colleague’s shooting report with, “****, and I trust y’all have the moon crickets in custody in no time,” and a December 2019 chain that included a meme tied to a hanging image followed by the message “happy Kwanzaa.” POST characterized Kawamoto’s responses and approvals of such language as evidence of intolerance toward protected classes and violations of Torrance Police Department anti‑harassment policies.
The division recommended Kawamoto’s POST certification be suspended or revoked. After the presentation the board allowed public comment and asked whether counsel for the officer had notified POST; the division said counsel had been notified but did not appear.
On a motion to revoke the certification, the roll call recorded seven ‘‘ayes’’ from voting members present. The board’s recorded vote: Clavo — aye; Crawford — aye; Dudley (chair) — aye; Glaser — aye; Johnson — aye; Lara — aye; Pena — aye. The motion passed unanimously.
The board’s action at this stage is a recommendation that follows POST’s preliminary determination of clear and convincing evidence as required by statute and regulation; it is not an evidentiary finding by an administrative law judge. POST staff explained the process that follows: a notice of intent, a 30‑day opportunity to appeal, and, if appealed, a hearing before the board, the commission or an administrative law judge where evidence and defenses will be considered in full.
The board did not issue additional directions on remedies beyond the vote to recommend revocation. POST recorded the division’s recommendation and the board’s unanimous vote in the hearing record.
Sources: presentation and evidentiary excerpts delivered by POST law-enforcement consultants at the July 16, 2025, hearing.
