Rob Bonta said Wednesday his office will investigate the Torrance Police Department in the wake of a scandal that revealed more than a dozen police officers had exchanged racist text messages for years, joked about using violence against suspects and mocked the idea that internal affairs might catch them.

In an interview with The Times, Bonta said that while the texts would be at the “heart” of any investigation, the probe will be broad in scope and could include policy reviews and, if necessary, criminal charges against individual officers.

“The reports are very disturbing and we are committed to going wherever the facts lead and making sure we remedy the situation and get the Torrance Police Department on a corrective course of action,” he said.

The announcement came hours after The Times published an investigation revealing more than a dozen Torrance police officers had exchanged racist and anti-Semitic texts and images which were recently uncovered as part of a criminal investigation into two former officers.

The Times has identified a dozen Torrance police officers who are under investigation for sharing racist and homophobic text messages and images.

Through interviews with sources with direct knowledge of the case and a review of district attorney’s office records, The Times identified 13 current and former Torrance police officers, and one Long Beach cop, who are under investigation as part of the scandal.

A joint investigation by Torrance Police and the district attorney’s office led to the discovery of the text messages.