Officers Disciplined for Biased Conduct, but They Rarely Lost Their Jobs

Here are the morning’s top stories on Thursday, June 25, 2026

• A new investigation reveals how California law enforcement agencies disciplined about 150 officers, who used racial slurs and acted in other prejudiced ways, and in many cases, officers kept their jobs. 
• The Trump Administration is taking another step toward restarting oil and gas development on federal lands in California. 
• The Los Angeles Unified School Board voted unanimously Wednesday to appoint Andrés Chait as superintendent.

California agencies disciplined officers for biased conduct, but they rarely lost their jobs

In April 2023, the FBI discovered that Rafael Silva, an officer with the Delano Police Department in California’s Central Valley, had made violent threats against transgender people on TikTok.

Under a pseudonym, Silva posted several comments that the FBI found imminently dangerous. One read, “You ain’t safe. We finna change your pronouns soon. Was/were.” Another said that Silva’s “AR will track y’all down.” And yet another read, “The only power you’ll see is the one from a barrel and a 9mm,” according to investigative documents.

Silva is one of the 148 California law enforcement officers who engaged in explicitly biased conduct between 2014 and 2024, according to an investigation by The California Newsroom and UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program. Records show the officers used racist, sexist and homophobic slurs; mocked transgender people; made violent comments about Black people; and demeaned members of the public, co-workers and incarcerated people, records show. Yet only about 12% were fired because of their conduct. Silva was not one of them. After leaving Delano, he went on to work for police departments in Avenal and Wasco.

The news organizations reviewed thousands of pages of internal affairs investigations, disciplinary records and court filings obtained from nearly 500 law enforcement and oversight agencies. The records show that some officers accused of overtly biased behavior often faced limited consequences, such as a letter of reprimand or training.

The California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or POST, determines whether to decertify officers, barring them from working in law enforcement in the state. However, the responsibility to investigate misconduct and impose discipline generally falls to individual agencies and local oversight boards, according to POST.

Despite that system, more than 40% of officers identified by the news organizations still work in California law enforcement, excluding corrections officers. Silva did not respond to requests for comment. The Delano Police Department confirmed that Silva worked there until 2023, but declined further comment. Attorneys, law enforcement officials and academics said the behavior erodes public trust, raises questions about officers’ credibility in court and undermines efforts to recruit and retain diverse police forces.

Trump administration greenlights new oil and gas developments in California

The Trump Administration is taking another step toward restarting oil and gas development on federal lands in California.

The plans cover federal lands in 18 counties, including parts of the Central Coast, Central Valley and Southern California. Gabe Garcia  with the Bureau of Land Management said the plans support the administration’s goal of increasing domestic energy production. “There’s oil that we use in California that is imported from a lot of different different countries,” he said. “And so I think the administration is driving to give people the opportunity to produce more oil here in California on federal land so that we can help with the need for our state.”

The BLM decision does not authorize new drilling. Instead, companies must first place a bid to lease a parcel of land. Then, each proposal would go through its own environmental review and public comment process.

Meanwhile, environmental groups said they’re preparing a legal challenge. They argue the new plans could increase pollution, worsen climate change and leave taxpayers to pay for abandoned oil wells.

LAUSD appoints longtime administrator Andrés Chait as next superintendent

The Los Angeles Unified Board voted unanimously to appoint Andrés Chait, a longtime district administrator, as superintendent days after his predecessor resigned.

“This board’s decision reflects the confidence in Mr. Chait’s leadership, his decades of service to Los Angeles Unified, and his demonstrated ability to guide the district during this period of transition,” said board President Scott Schmerelson.

The board met privately to discuss the district’s top job three days after Alberto Carvalho resigned. Carvalho wrote in a letter that he was leaving “because I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction.” The board placed Carvalho on paid administrative leave following FBI searches of his home and district office in February and appointed Chait acting superintendent. Carvalho has not been charged with a crime and has maintained his innocence.

Chait rose through the ranks from teacher to administrator at LAUSD over nearly three decades. The responsibilities of his most recent role, chief of school operations, included overseeing school safety, athletics and the district’s office of emergency management.

Chait thanked the board, the community and his family after the announcement Wednesday and reflected on his first day as a kindergarten teacher 30 years ago. “ I was probably more nervous than the kids were, but I knew then that this was a place where I could make a positive difference in the lives of students and families,” Chait said. “I’ve always known that there is no greater accelerator of change and opportunity than the schoolhouse, and that is still true today.”