San Francisco police chief Greg Suhr resigns after deadly shooting
SAN FRANCISCO -- Hours after a woman was shot and killed by San Francisco police, the city's mayor said the embattled police chief had resigned.
CBS San Francisco station KPIX reported Mayor Ed Lee announced Chief Greg Suhr's resignation Thursday afternoon.
"For the past several months, this city has been shaken and divided, and tensions between our law enforcement and communities of color have simmered for too many years," said Lee.
The mayor acknowledged the continued support he had showed Suhr, despite mounting opposition from both protesters and San Francisco officials.
"I have previously expressed confidence in Chief Suhr, because I know he agrees with and understands the need for reform," said Lee. "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."
Lee said that he asked for and accepted Surh's resignation during that meeting. Deputy Chief Toney Chaplin was named acting police chief.
The mayor said Suhr, who took over as chief in 2011 and has been with the Police Department for 33 years, is "a true public servant and he'll always have respect from me."
He said Chaplin has served in the department for 26 years and has an "established record of commitment to the city's diverse communities."
Thursday morning, a SFPD sergeant shot and killed a 27-year-old woman as he tried to pull her out of a stolen car she had crashed into a parked truck. Suhr spoke to the media at the scene after the incident and said it was not yet clear if she was armed or threatening officers.
Last week, four San Francisco supervisors called for Suhr to be replaced, becoming the first top-level elected officials to do so after months of sustained calls from activists for his removal.
Supervisor Jane Kim issued a statement urging Lee and the San Francisco Police Commission to begin a search for "a new chief who can implement fundamental reform."
"Chief Greg Suhr has served San Francisco for over 30 years and we should thank him for that service," Kim said. "But even he must acknowledge that leading a culture shift in that department would be easier and faster if there was new leadership there."
Kim's call came after months of protests triggered by a number of fatal police shootings, as well as by revelations of racist text messages exchanged among officers.
In recent weeks, protests centered around a group of hunger strikers who called themselves the Frisco5 who demanded Suhr's removal. Demonstations drew hundreds of people to City Hall, with one sit-in ending with dozens of arrests.