About 100 people gathered two weeks ago at San Francisco City Hall to march and protest over police use of force after five people ended a hunger strike three days ago after almost 17 days without solid food. The fatal shooting occurred in the same neighborhood where Mario Woods was gunned down by five officers in December.
Advertisement
Suhr responded by announcing a number of reforms aimed at cutting down shootings and he called in the U.S. Department of Justice to review the department’s policy and procedures.
Greg Suhr stepped down Thursday following a request from Mayor Ed Lee as a result of mounting racial tensions and criticism against the department, according to reports. San Francisco’s police chief, Greg Suhr, resigned Thursday at the request of the mayor hours after an officer fatally shot a young black woman driving a stolen auto – the culmination of several racially charged incidents in the past year.
Supervisor Eric Mar said in a statement that he applauded Suhr’s resignation, but was troubled that the move had come after “yet another officer involved killing” of an African-American woman in San Francisco. Authorities have not identified the woman or the sergeant who fired the fatal round. Those calls intensified in April, when police shot and killed a homeless Latino man who was also carrying a knife. Video of the shooting circulated widely on social media, fueling public controversy over police tactics.
Mr Brown, like the mayor, also supported Mr Suhr throughout the department’s turmoil. “Some people get it sooner or later, we need to train them”, he said.
“Toney Chaplin has the charisma, chemistry and courage to lead this department”, said the Rev Amos Brown, president of the San Francisco chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP).
Police said the vehicle had been reported stolen. “I continue to have confidence in and enormous respect for Greg Suhr”. Chaplin, who is black, is a 26-year department veteran. The gathering was initially planned as a protest, but it turned into a celebration of Suhr’s resignation among activists.
“These officer-involved shootings, justified or not, have forced our city to open its eyes to questions of when and how police use lethal force”. During his time in the department he had a close relationship with the powerful police union and even had a monthly column “Chief’s Corner” in their journal. I deeply respect Chief Suhr as a person, as a true San Franciscan, and as someone who woke up every day to keep the public safe, strengthen ties in the community with our residents, and to make San Francisco a better place for all communities. Anthony Batts, Baltimore’s former police chief, was axed in July, 2015, over his handling of the death Freddie Gray in the back of a police van and the protests and riots that followed.
He was demoted from deputy chief to captain in 2009 after failing to file a police report after a female friend told him she had been assaulted by her boyfriend.
Advertisement
Suhr was The City’s 42nd police chief. He was also indicted for an incident known as “Fajitagate” where several officers beat a waiter and stole his Mexican food. The indictment was tossed out.
