Authorities still investigating racial slurs

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Investigators are still searching for the people who

uttered racial slurs over a police radio frequency during a search for

bank robbers last week.

The slurs were heard Dec. 8, as officers from Huntington Beach,

Westminster, the Orange County district attorney’s office and the FBI

were pursuing two African American suspects who had robbed the Wells

Fargo Bank at Goldenwest Street and Bolsa Avenue, police said.

While the Huntington Beach Police Department has launched an

investigation to identify who made the comments, local officials stress

that other agencies were involved and that many amateur radio operators

could have “hacked” into the frequency.

“There is a huge number of people that share those airwaves,” Huntington

Beach Police Sgt. Janet Perez said.

Perez said she couldn’t estimate when the investigation would be wrapped

up.

“It just takes time,” she said.

A similar incident took place in February in Westminster. Police blamed

the derogatory comments about Asians on an amateur hacker.