Chaplin, a department veteran with 26 years of experience, was appointed Thursday following the resignation of Chief Greg Suhr, who stepped down in the wake of a fatal officer-involved shooting in the Bayview District earlier that day.
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The mayor continued, “But following this morning’s officer-involved shooting and my meeting with Chief Suhr this afternoon, today I have arrived at a different conclusion to the question of how best to move forward”.
Adding that, “the progress we have made has been meaningful, but it hasn’t been fast enough, not for me and not for Greg, and that’s why I have asked Chief Suhr for his resignation”, explained Lee.
SFPD Chief Greg Suhr briefs the media near the scene where a 27-year-old woman was shot and killed by police in the Bayview District of San Francisco, Calif. Thursday, May 19, 2016.
Police say two officers who were involved in a project to recover stolen vehicles tried to arrest the woman after spotting the auto.
A witness told police the woman was moving the vehicle back and forth while officers tried to pull her out.
Officers turned on the patrol car’s lights and sounded its siren, and the woman to sped off in the stolen auto. The woman was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died, Suhr said. Former Chicago Police Chief Garry McCarthy was also fired in December amid protests over the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald.
The shooting occurred amid the department attempts to restore damaged relations with communities of color after a series of fatal shootings of minority suspects, culminating with the death of a young black man carrying a knife in December. Chaplin, who is black, is a 26-year department veteran.
Retired San Francisco Police Chief Anthony Ribera said Chaplin must also discipline and organize the department across all aspects of police work, not just the use of force, so that no disciplinary cases go unheard.
In April, police shot and killed Luis Gongora, a homeless man who they claimed had charged at the officers with a knife. Her name has not been released.
San Francisco’s chief of police has resigned after the recent death of a 27-year-old Black woman during an altercation with police, the BBC reports.
The department has also been embroiled in controversy over racist and homophobic text messages exchanged among officers.
Lee named Toney Chaplin as acting police chief.
Until Thursday, the mayor remained firmly behind the politically connected Suhr, repeatedly saying he was confident that the chief was making needed reforms.
The city previous year paid $725,000 to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a former department lawyer who recommended Suhr be fired for failing to report his friend’s assault. Video footage contradicted police statements that Woods thrust a knife he was carrying towards the cops.
Lee had previously defended the chief, despite four supervisors last week calling for Suhr to step down.
“The problems seen in San Francisco, use of force, and the evidence that some officers felt free to express racist sentiments point toward a need for changes in the department’s culture and systems”.
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Lee, who appointed Suhr in 2011, supported him throughout public outcry for him to step down, but it came to an end Thursday.
