SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Seven San Francisco police officers accused of sending racist and homophobic text messages have been suspended, and the police chief is recommending that they be fired.

Chief Greg Suhr announced in a statement Friday that he has asked a police oversight committee to approve firing the officers. He says six others will face disciplinary actions that include reassignment to positions that don't have contact with the public. Another officer has resigned.

Authorities say the texts targeting blacks, Mexicans, Filipinos and gay men were sent between 2011 and 2012.

Suhr calls the texts "despicable" and says those who sent them "clearly fall below the minimum standards required to be a police officer."

They were discovered by federal authorities investigating a former sergeant who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to prison.

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(Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)