The Black Lives Matter movement had targeted Suhr for months, following a scandal over racist and homophobic texts sent by police officers, and several recent officer-involved shootings. Video footage contradicted police statements that Woods thrust a knife he was carrying towards the cops.
Advertisement
Then in April, police killed Luis Gongora, a homeless man who police also claimed attacked them with a knife. Eyewitness stories also contradicted the cops’ account.
At the end of April, Suhr was pressured toreleased the full transcripts of texts exchanged between a few of the department’s officers.
The new acting SFPD Chief Toney Chaplin stands beside San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee (not pictured) during a press conference at City Hall in San Francisco, on Thursday, May 19, 2016. According to the Associated Press, a sergeant shot and killed a woman as he and his partenr attempted to pull her out of an allegedly stolen auto that she’d crashed into a parked truck.
Roughly two hours after news of the shooting broke, Ed Lee asked for his resignation during a City Hall meeting.
Suhr could not be reached for comment Thursday evening. “Let’s come together as San Franciscans and move forward”, he said.
“For the last many months, every day, I have asked myself, ‘Is the path to reform best advanced by our current department leadership?”
Lee, who continued to be a staunch supporter of Suhr’s throughout the shootings and scandals, announced the chief’s resignation by acknowledging his reform efforts but conceding they were not implemented “fast enough”. “Not for me and not for Greg”, said Mayor Lee.
Officers turned on the patrol car’s lights and siren and the woman sped off.
In July, Baltimore police commissioner Anthony Batts was sacked when parts of the city erupted in riots after a video emerged of officers arresting a black man who later died of an injury suffered in police custody.
Two years earlier, he was one of several officers indicted in the city’s so-called “Fajitagate” for allegedly trying to cover up an investigation of three off-duty officers who had beaten up a waiter and took his bag of Mexican food.
– The new acting San Francisco Police Chief Toney Chaplin held a news conference Friday afternoon, saying he will do a top to bottom assessment to see what needs to change.
Police Commissioner Anthony Batts from Baltimore resigned over the death of Freddie Grey while in custody and the consequent riots. But the first deadline isn’t until next year and the bill doesn’t require reporting information on other civilian complaints, like the use of racial slurs. Then, Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy from Chicago quit after the shooting of Laquan McDonald.
In February, Lee and Suhr unveiled a set of department reforms that emphasized de-escalation and firearms training for officers, the distribution of bean bag guns, and equipping officers with helmets and batons for when they encounter with armed suspects.
Video of Woods’ shooting circulated widely online and led to protests and calls for Suhr’s resignation. [Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images] Still, some activists in San Francisco had been fighting for him to leave for some time.
City supervisors-four out of 11 advocated for administration change following a Blue Ribbon panel that found systemic problems in the department- thanked Suhr Thursday for his dedication to San Francisco.
Advertisement
Suhr said it’s unknown if any weapons were found in the vehicle.
