LONG BEACH (CBSLA) — A Long Beach police officer who was identified as one of more than a dozen who exchanged racist text messages with his colleagues in Torrance has been suspended, officials said Friday.

Officer Maxwell Schroeder, a former Torrance police recruit who has been with the Long Beach Police Department since 2016, has been suspended for "comments that were biased and prejudiced in nature."

Long Beach police says it was notified on Aug. 19 about biased and prejudiced remarks made by Schroeder in electronic communications with a non-LBPD employee. An internal administrative investigation was immediately launched, and the officer, identified as Schroeder, was reassigned to desk assignment, a statement from the department said.

Since August, Long Beach police says it has acquired additional evidence and if internal affairs investigators interviewed Schroeder. Because of the serious nature of the allegations and based on a preliminary review of the evidence of investigation, the decision was made to suspend Schroeder.

"This department does not tolerate biased or prejudicial behavior by any employee – this officer's actions do not reflect the morals held by our officers who engage with our diverse community," Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna said in a statement.

Schroeder was most recently assigned to field support, and Long Beach police say previous use-of-force incidents and arrest reports made by Schroeder are also under review.

Schroeder was identified by the Los Angeles Times as one of the more than a dozen police officers who have exchanged racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic texts and images for years. The texts and images surfaced during an investigation into two Torrance police officers who have been charged with vandalizing an impounded vehicle with a swastika, and the California Attorney General Rob Bonta earlier this week launched an independent review into the Torrance Police Department.