High-ranking San Francisco politicians call for new police chief
By Curtis Skinner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Three members of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors on Wednesday called for the replacement of the city's police chief amid scandals that have rocked the department for months.
Supervisor Jane Kim, who is currently running for the California State Senate, was the first on Wednesday to raise the issue, urging Mayor Ed Lee and the city's police commission to launch a search to replace Police Chief Greg Suhr.
Supervisors David Campos and John Avalos echoed Kim's calls for Suhr's replacement later in the day.
A widely seen video that showed about a dozen police officers fatally shooting a black man in early December spurred protests against the department and Suhr. A scandal involving racist and homophobic text messages sent by police officers has fueled more outrage.
In the December incident, 26-year-old Mario Woods, who was a suspect in a stabbing, was shot by police, which was captured on videotape by bystanders. Police said Woods, whose family has sued the city, was holding a knife and refused to drop it. The city's public defender called the shooting unnecessary.
Protesters have repeatedly called for Suhr's ouster, and most recently some held a hunger strike outside a police department building.
Kim said Suhr needed to be replaced.
"Many are calling for the chief to be fired at once," Kim said in a statement. "I believe we could actually do worse than Chief Suhr, which is why we must begin this process at once so we can make sure the next chief can lead our department, reform it and do so in a way that rebuilds the community trust so vital to public safety."
San Francisco police spokesman Albie Esparza said Suhr "has no intention of stepping down," adding that Suhr plans to continue working with the city and the U.S. Justice Department, which in February launched a review of the department in the wake of the Woods shooting.
The supervisors' calls to replace Suhr came on the heels of preliminary findings by a panel headed by retired judges that found the department lacks transparency and accountability on an array of issues including hiring, training and use of force investigations.
The mayor has stood by the chief and on Tuesday announced a $17.5 million package to fund police reforms over the next two years.
"No other city is working faster or more deliberately on police reforms," Lee said in a statement on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; Editing by Leslie Adler)
