2 California police officers have been suspended over leaked group chat texts showing them mocking a homeless person, joking about beating up protesters, and suggesting shooting a suspect in the face

• Two officers in the Eureka Police Department were put on leave over leaked texts this week.
• The officers are Police Sgt. Rodrigo Reyna-Sanchez and Officer Mark Meftah.
• Leaked texts sent in a group text with their squad revealed degrading messages.

Two police officers in Northern California have been placed on administrative leave over texts from a leaked group chat.

The texts, provided to the Sacramento Bee by an anonymous source, show the officers from the Eureka Police Department mocking people experiencing homelessness and mental illness, making obscene comments about women, joking about beating up local protesters, and suggesting shooting a suspect in the face.

The messages, which were part of a squad group chat, were sent between January 2020 and August 2020.

The squad's supervisor, Police Sgt. Rodrigo Reyna-Sanchez, and Officer Mark Meftah were put on administrative leave after the police department learned of the texts this week when it received a call form the Sacramento Bee.

The Bee reported the group chat included six officers.

In one instance, the group spoke about a mentally ill woman they had previously responded to.

"She sounds hot!!!" Reyna-Sanchez said of the woman, according to The Bee. "In this cold chill, I bet she got some hard nipples."

In a conversation about a protest in January 2020, Reyna-Sanchez asked if his officers had riot gear on hand.

"I'll beat those f-----g hippies down," Meftah replied, according to The Bee.

In April while discussing a suspect who was found with a stash of guns and police gear, including Reyna-Sanchez's tactical vest, The Bee reported Reyna Sanchez texted: "Face shoot the f----r!!!"

Reyna-Sanchez also called a COVID-19 patient an "outbreak monkey" in one text, The Bee reported.

Eureka Police Chief Steve Watson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, but said in a statement on Facebook Reyna-Sanchez and Meftah had been put on administrative leave indefinitely.

He said the department was continuing to investigate the texts, and have ordered an independent investigation into the matter.

"Upon learning the details of the content in these reported communications, I, like you, was deeply saddened and disturbed," Watson said. "While the exchange that reportedly occurred between officers was something that appears to have taken place on private devices, the subject matter discussed professional duties and was profoundly upsetting."

He said the messages did not reflect training officers go through in the department, including course on implicit bias, racial and cultural diversity, crisis intervention, deescalation techniques, and community safety engagement.

"Transparency and accountability are required in the positions we fill, and you have my word that we won't rest as we keep working to achieve the standard our community expects," he said.