An SFPD drug sting operation that resulted in the arrests of 37 people, all of whom are African American, shows "substantial evidence" of racially biased law enforcement according to a federal judge. The Chronicle reports that US District Judge Edward Chen would not dismiss the claims of 12 of those 37 defendants that they were the victims of racist policing during the Safe Schools program, a sweep operation jointly operated by local police officers and federal law enforcement.

“F***ing BMs,” an officer was heard referring in law enforcement shorthand to "black males" while making an arrest. According to court records, another officer filming video told him “Shh, hey, I’m rolling." Yet another officer allegedly referred to black women as "bitches." Finally, video evidence purports to show an officer turn down an offer from an Asian-American woman selling drugs and proceed to arrest a black woman nearby instead.

“The evidence shows there are substantial numbers (and a substantial proportion) of drug dealers in the Tenderloin who are not African American; yet they were not stopped or arrested," said Judge Chen. To make that point, the judge cites police reports showing officers were aware of Latino drug dealers in the area and that 60 non-African Americans were arrested for drug trafficking in the area during the Safe Schools stings but not charged federally under that program. If proven in court, the 12 defendants' police racism claims could provide grounds for the dismissal of the federal charges against them as the charges would constitute civil rights violations.

The Safe Schools police sweeps program took place in 2013 and 2014 targeting drug trafficking near schools in the Tenderloin. Because SFPD officers worked with the US Drug Enforcement Administration, those arrested and prosecuted in these cases faced more severe mandatory sentences. However, Judge Chen rejected claims of discriminatory prosecution. So far no evidence indicates Federal prosecutors knew of discriminatory policing when they filed charges or had knowledge that other, non-African-American suspects might also have been accused of the same crimes.

Pubic Defender Jeff Adachi tells the Chronicle that the ruling “sends a clear message to the government that racial discrimination and selective enforcement by police will not be tolerated.”

Related: Here Are All Of The Ridiculously Racist And Offensive Texts Recently Uncovered In Latest SFPD Probe