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Home News + Politics Chief Suhr is out — now what?

Chief Suhr is out — now what?

Mayor says Deputy Chief Toney Chaplin will take over as acting chief; no word yet on a search for a permanent replacement

 

After months of protests, this evening Mayor Ed Lee announced he had asked for and received the resignation of San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr. The resignation comes after this morning’s shooting of a 27-year old African American woman by an SFPD police officer.

“For the past several months, the city has been shaken and divided. Tensions between our law enforcement and communities of color have simmered for too many years and that has come into full view. While the facts are still emerging, we know that this morning a young woman of color was killed in an officer-involved shooting,” Mayor Lee said as he addressed a room full of reporters inside his office.

Sources inside City Hall had tipped reporters that the mayor was meeting with the chief. As reporters waited outside the Mayor’s office, Chief Suhr exited from a different entrance without addressing the media.

Screen Shot 2016-05-19 at 18.33.39
Mayor Lee introduces Acting Chief Toney Chaplin with Police Commission President Suzy Loftus at his side

“For the past many months every day I have asked myself is the path to reform best advanced by current department’s leadership and it has been my goal and remains real reform and restoration of trust,” Lee said. Lee has received a lot of criticism for his support of Chief Suhr “While I have previously expressed confidence in Chief Suhr, after this morning I have arrived at a different conclusion.”

Technically, the mayor can’t fire the chief; only the Police Commission can do that. But once Lee asked for Suhr to step down, the chief had no choice.

Lee named Deputy Chief Toney Chaplin as acting chief, effective immediately. Chaplin is a 27-year veteran who has of late has advanced fairly quickly through the ranks; a year ago, he was still a homicide lieutenant.

So his command-level experience is limited — particularly for someone who will be taking on the huge task of reforming the culture of a department out of control.

One of the main tasks: Breaking the hold the Police Officers Association has on the department. Chaplin has not been a part of the recent thug-like POA actions at the Police Commission, so that’s a positive sign.

He was a speaker at Public Defender Jeff Adachi’s last criminal justice summit. He spoke, along with Yulanda Williams, of Officers for Justice, about the issues facing African Americans in the department:

Commander Chaplin said that there “is a lot of self-reflection going on, not just in the United States but in the world.”  He said he felt that something should have happened well before now and he expressed sadness at the events happening nationwide.

“Some of us have lost our way,” he said pointedly. “Some people get it right away – not a problem. Some people get it sooner or later – we need to train them… Some people never get it – they need to be fired.”

He said that the chief made the recommendation to fire those officers involved in the text messaging scandal because, in some of those cases, there is nothing that can be done to change the officers’ actions.

Commander Chaplin related to own his own bad experience with the police prior to becoming a police officer. He said he went clubbing down in the South Bay. He said he wouldn’t go into details but, “It almost stopped me from being here sitting in front of you.”

Mr. Chaplin continued, “I apologize if I offend anybody, but I wasn’t shocked by any of it [that which came out on the text messaging scandal], because most of us African Americans have experienced it throughout the years.”

He said a lot of African-American police are questioning the people they thought were there friends. At the same time, he said that it’s a great time for this country because things that have been talked about and whispered about for years are finally coming out into the open.

He may, in fact, be the best choice of the existing command staff — for now.

But it may be close to impossible for anyone inside the ranks to make the changes that are so clearly needed. We asked the mayor if he intended to do a national search to fill the permanent job, and all he would say is that he will “work with the commission.”

Sup. David Campos told us tonight that he thinks the commission should do a national search and look outside. “We’ve tried reform from inside,” he said. “If Greg Suhr couldn’t do it then we need to look at another approach.”

The Racial Justice Committee of the Public Defender’s Office issued a statement:

“The Racial Justice Committee recognizes the important symbolic step taking place today with Chief Suhr’s resignation.  As public servants we know that these decisions are not lightly undertaken. But as black and brown bodies of unarmed men and women lie in the streets of San Francisco, having been felled by way too many police bullets, we also know that this is only the first step toward building public trust in the City’s administration.

We renew our call, first made on May 3, for a change in police culture, from the top of the command staff to the cadet just making her way through the academy. It is imperative that every single officer given a uniform, a badge and a gun receive regular and repeated training on how implicit racial bias affects their perception of danger and of who is walking down the street in a suspicious manner.”

The Racial Justice Committee reiterated their ten point plan for Police Department Reform, which includes the need for accurate data collection on detentions, traffic stops and so-called consent searches.

 

A group of community members gathered outside City Hall and after a long time, the crowd appeared festive but determined. Maria Cristina Gutierrez, one of the hunger strikers who went without solids for 17 days to demand Chief Suhr be fired or step down, met with other supporters who hugged and greeted her as they arrived.

“This shows that the power of the people can show things, the unity of the people can accomplish stuff so we should believe in ourselves” she said before repeating two of the three community demands that still need to be addressed “We have a big job ahead of us, one of them is that the policemen who committed the murders has to go to jail. The next one is that there has to be true reforms in the police department. I also believe that the community needs to be involved in who is going to be the next chief,” she said.

For Lee, and for his chosen interim chief, the message of the past few weeks could not be clearer: There is a dedicated, organized community that is watching the Police Department — and is sick of the killings and the racist texts and the impunity.

Acting Chief Chaplin takes his new office with the knowledge that if he can’t reform the department, he will also be held to account. And that’s a critical victory for the community.

178 COMMENTS

  1. Ideal cop of status” no other filling quota, of (socialism) of Democratic morals really. Toney Chaplin going be example as Obama forgotten Willie Brown (Mr.Frowns) only statistics where
    resolution. Diversity eluding segregation of respecting middle class Blacks,matter fact encountered bigotry. Ed Lee (Mr.Plea) find policies of evasion especially housing,jobs and
    transit improvements! Reflection of Democrats gentrification whom majority approving policies ignore housing residency getting first choice employment. Yes global presence majority firms,refuse hire locals deficit whom incurring cause? Ed Lee recommend Toney Chaplin another token,mockery of civil rights why escalation of crime downtown regarding Bay View. Mahila Cohen district where effort to hold (forums) economics and empowered polices respect. You can’t damaging effects of apathy and gentrification disrespect among lower income is paramount! Chief Chaplin shall arrest drug offenders around California center and Hunter’s Point forgotten if decrying. Police your a racist well Toney your not first top cop SFPD whom,colored no offense writing express lack. Community activities in Hood whom shield not bullets,the gangs yes targeted many LGBTQ! Ed Lee you wasn’t bemused with candor of Bayview,London Breed (Mama Hip hip) had to intervene explaining this appropriate. Conduct of those supporting judgment of mayoral office which,anticipates gentrify district (10) irrelevant wasn’t,communication gap. Decades of allowing D.A dept allow social decay,this ideal antics continue oppression of naive didn’t say race! Ed Lee refusal to assist fair housing,
    LGBTQ and Asian residents it’s corporate influence controlling the ballots Toney Chaplin are.
    Going to arrest narcotics sellers downtown whom causing agitation yes car jacking when say
    racial are going respect valor! London and Mahila your ideal Sista hood if you could or would,
    promote independence of minds not co-dependency. Democrats needs jail bait to continue
    polices exploiting majority don’t say I’m racist just realist observe lies of Democrats. Chief
    Chaplin mention Fajita incident equivalent of Hillary Clinton erasing government emails lies
    chosen politicians cause gentrification. 48 hills aware I care yes dare,expose the lies status
    affluent no matter color if queer,Black,gender,lower income Asian and disable forgotten City
    Hall. Pretense Chief Chaplin going to inspire the gangs and D.A allow further damage streets,
    of San Francisco yes I’m critical. Ed Lee using color options supported by Willie Brown and
    London Breed regarding Wille Mr.Top Lawyer. What happen diversity of LGBTQ and Blacks
    dominating policies and law firms whom opposing fair housing! Entanglement time for ballots,
    defeat of Hillary San Francisco residents need to decide shall reelected those opposing diversity income,residents rights and fairness where. Administrated by BOMA.S.F whom awaiting next mayoral office Jane Kim,London Breed,David Chui and Scott Wiener your choice! Kamala Harris now senator gotten chosen appropriate connections Jerry Brown.D
    simply no longer peoples choice California opposite corporations! Toney Chaplin,Prentrice E.
    Sanders former (Chief SFPD) and London Breed your not representation of “diversity” for
    yourself crime going to continue reason. Jails crowed due gang violence London I know, reading this since gotten reelected job not well done! I’m not stun or astonished politically machine continue ignore essentials governmental policies your creek using district (5) refuse
    hold my words. Chief Chapline going fill years of racism towards progressive Blacks denied
    chance contribute San Francisco where communities. No longer campuses and REITS losing
    neighborhoods solidarity thanks Ed Lee,Scott Wiener and London Breed racism paramount
    Bay area. You’ll succeed if have exclusive networking many don’t comprehend this not race
    mention Bay View be resident. Of merit you’ll probable be mistrusted assaulted it’s mentality of,social decay London Breed thanks inspiring communications. Black folks what? RAD loan
    $770 million to rehabilitate no regression SF Housing dept where effort improve diversity of
    education and jobs? Mission 10th youth using social event ideal place no disgrace statistics
    used abused diversity is failure. Segregation benefit old guard whom detest strength of challenge diversity London Breed laughing Pride Show. Including myself participates not aware if don’t unite where going to lose GAYBORHOOD! Toney Chaplin your color chief hold
    (forum) going change crime is it possible only rhetoric to appease “affirmative action!

  2. No one knows how they are going to act in any situation until it happens. If I were on a jury I might be tempted to give someone the death sentence in some circumstances. yet, the intellectual part of me knows that you are going down a dangerous path when you do that. complex situations.
    Signing off for tonight – have to get to other obligations. Peace .

  3. Agreed. Im tempted to press you on what way youd want him off the planet without killing him, but i get you. Sounds like hes nuts. If, hypothetically (im assuming they arrested him since your thankful theyll be charging him), he runs at a cop in jail with shank and ends up dead, what happens to justice then? It really has nothing to do with the initial reason hes in jail. Just like initially, Gongora (the homeless man) was just “being aggressive with a knife”..not running at anyone with it, the ante upper that made the cops feel shooting him was necesarry. Justice would not be served if after he hit you, the police curb stomped him behind the subway station. Thats not what i preach, not what anyone preaches, certainly not Greg Suhr.

    Im troubled that weve exchanged this many messages and your take away is that i think cops can do no wrong. Ive cited 4 very specific instances and defended them, ive cited numerous scenarios where i would 100% hold cops accountable and enjoy seeing them locked up for ever. *facepalm*

  4. Justice is an idea in our heads of the way things should be. It is not a fact. There is no justice in human life. Sometimes people can fight injustice.

    No two human situations are ever identical.

    I was a victim of a violentt crime last week. A man asked me for a subway token in the train station and I said no. He punched me in the face giving me a bruise on my chin and a big whole in my mouth. If I had been standing at a different angle he could have knocked a tooth out.

    I am grateful that a nice cop came right away and that the police will probably arrest the guy who hit me. He is an asshole taking up too much space on the planet. On the other hand I would not want to see a cop shoot him and splatter his body all over the sidewalk either.

    Violence begets violence and it has to end somewhere or there is not much hope for the future of the human race.

    You and I will never agree on this so I will just leave you with this: you have to acknowledge that cops make mistakes too otherwise no one is going to listen to you.

  5. Uhh…i guess what one considers justice is a matter of opinion too. Agree to disagree, everythings a matter of opinion. Laws are laws because of majority opinion. The cops all walked cuz the laws let them. Itd be more injust than just for any of them to be deemed murderers and treated as such, thats at least what the majority opinion is.

    OJ Simpson. Lol. You went there. Well sheesh, i guess you must be right huh. If you want my opinion, which you probably dont but oh well. OJ killed them both. Technically, hes not a murderer. Am i confident enough that he got away with it to call him a murderer? Absolutely. Please dont equate the officer involved shooting deaths of people breaking the law with a sociopathic athlete who gutted two innocent people. You make some pretty awful comparisons, i must say

  6. Don’t kid yourself. The cops were right? It’s a matter of opinion. There could be many reasons prosecutors chose not to indict cops none of them have anything to do with justice. Was the jury right in finding OJ Simpson not guilty of murder?
    You’re not helping your cause by refusing to acknowledge that cops can be wrong sometimes too.

  7. Obviously. The doctors guilty of malpractice probably shouldve done something else too. Where we disagree is defenitions i guess. You think the people SFPD has killed recently were just homeless and mentally ill people that wound up pulverized and i dont. The law also doesnt, which is what made these officers actually there in real time know “this is an ok thing to do right now”. They arent cruising around the city shooting kids off bikes from patrol cars. They’re shooting people rarely and when situations unfold where the law allows them to defend themselves. Thats why none have been charged. They cant be cuz they didnt commit a crime. The argument i make is that there was how many fatal police shootings in SF during Suhrs tenure? It was in the 20’s i believe. None led to charges..CUZ THE COPS WERE RIGHT. Theres judges, the D.A, large portions of the public now who all feel the way you do. These judges would love to have their names attached to a guilty verdict against a cop. In San Francisco, the most liberal city in America, loadsss of judges analyze these cases when they happen and-to no avail-find nothing they can charge because even the most contentious killings that the public bickers over, like Mario Woods, are legal. All i can say, all i advocate, all i’ll teach my kids, is listen to cops. If for no other reason, simply because theyre given leverage to kill you if you act wrong. Its not an argument with mom or dad, a teacher, a friend. Its simple. They deal with killers and they protect “us”, so “we” let cops pull the trigger in situations where me or you’d be in huge trouble. If you think those cops should have different jobs, shoulve done something (?) different, thats our difference. Doesnt seem like either of us will change.

  8. People don’t protest surgical negligence, they sue for malpractice. That is why malpractice insurance is so expensive. Sure, like I said before probably 99% of all American cops are non violent public servants trying to protect the public. We hear about the horror stories of brutality and abuse more than the day to day hero stores.
    On the other hand some people should not be cops, and that includes the ones that pulverize homeless and mentally ill people to death.

  9. I guess if you wanna also equate starving oneself outside a police station, tearing apart city hall, calling for officials resignations and/or criminal charges to be brought upon people only higher on the totem pole than those guilty of anything, to “people judging doctors all the time”, than youre entitled to make those vague and obviously unequivocal comparisons. It makes everything your saying true, who cares if it really is.

  10. Correct me if im wrong, i think youre probably far more likely to know someone whose been a victim of the 3rd most common cause of death in the U.S than one of the few hundred who die in police interactions annually, justifiably or unjustifiably. My point was more that if you care about people who dont deserve it dying, and trust being instilled in those who prove they dont deserve it, you’d think criticism of literally any profession other than policing (maybe doctors, anyone who influences an individuals quality of life really) would be at least something we hear with some kind of frequency. We don’t. Youre equating two professions where people end up dead but at overwhelmingly different rates. And the one with less actually recieves an unbelievable amount more criticism given that they kill people less, according to statistics you yourself cited. Did you go out and protest against UCSF Benioff after Jahi McBeth died unexpectedly in surgery? The family accuses negligence similar to the accusations leveled at SFPD after Mario Woods ended up dead…”You do you’re job bad”. Accurate conclusions depend on piecing things together more cohesively than that. The truth is most people don’t care about that fact when its police officers under the microscope, guilty until proven innocent. The same logic they tell cops they use when they pull the trigger. Too ironic.

  11. People judge doctors all the time, as they should. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States. Doctors and nurses kill many more people than police.Whatever profession you are in people are going to judge you. So saying that I shouldn’t judge the police until I work as a police officer isn’t really accurate.

  12. Can i ask in all seriousness, as you now sound more calm, whats a time you would deem being shot by a police officer right? ‘Rights’ a weird way of phrasing any kind of killing that i think most of us all hope we never have to decide on committing. I’ll assume you know the background behind those 4 recent killings too, nieto, perez, woods, williams. So far no convictions have panned out for any of the officers whove had charges filed. Unless of course you think any situation where a verdict you disagree with is reached is a “they were in bed together” situation, what gives? We agree on the basics it seems, needless killing oughta be avoided at all costs. Is the only time its ok to kill a suspect when an officers already been shot at, stabbed, run over, or hit? Or are we ok with giving the benefit of the doubt (not immunity) to officers who inherently are entering situations daily with people who arent phased by the law or arent in states where they can process it? Investigations and charges, not just for cops, for all people, are the way to go when someones wrong and is a danger to the population at large. It’d seem at least based on recent history that the consensus legally is that SFPD hasn’t been wrong ENOUGH to warrant legal action. Of course those conclusions can be dismissed by casting doubt on the legal system we have, but assuming for all intensive purposes that these cases were investigated independently like weve been told they were, what makes you say the officers involved in all these shootings are a danger to the general public? Which is what locking up unpredictable and volatile murderers is protecting us all from, supposedly

  13. I care about a lot of things, but the things I can control get higher priority.

    Activism, voting, political pressure and whatever else it takes to change the culture of the SFPD to one that values life instead of needless killing of suspects is worth my effort.

    I reckon that I will never be at risk for being shot by a policeman, so this isn’t about me. This is about what’s right.

  14. Racist how?

    The only cities in America that average a murder a day or more are cities with populations dwarfing SF. Like NYC, Philly, LA, Chicago and Houston. Also, notoriously dangerous cities like New Orleans, St. Louis, Cleveland, Baltimore and Memphis all have averaged one a day at points in recent memory. Oakland hasnt averaged a killing a year in the same time frame your citing. Is Oakland safe? You have a completely illegitimate way of measuring this, but i wont discredit what i think is your main point-that San Francisco is not a ridiculously dangerous place. That said, if 30 of 52 homicides happen in a single precinct, ill go out on a limb and call that area dangerous. Bayview-Hunters Point is one of the most impoverished neighborhoods in Northern California, among the likes of East Oakland, West Oakland, Iron Triangle in Richmond, parts of Sacramento and Stockton. Antioch, East Palo Alto, etc.

    If youre not intending to label anyone anything, i encourage you to not draw attention to specific cases and detract from others, it naturally gives the impression that you think certain killings are “more important” or, even though i know (hope) you dont mean it, that certain killings are more worthy of outrage.

    As for your tax dollars, that straw man argument, yeah ok. OUR tax dollars go to lots of things, on top of the fact that youre indirectly saying you only care because your moneys on the table, the fact that we live in a society with lotssss of opinions/places to give money to. I dont think nows an appropriate time to cite cash as cause for concern. If i could pick and choose which politcians, city workers, parks my money went to…idk if i even would, because that doesnt seem fair, but ill admit the idea’s enticing. Pay for things for me. Sounds good. Also sounds like you only care about yourself. If thats the case, and youve certainly made it, carry on. Keep hiking SF.

  15. Racist POS, I was responding to this “. . . nor generally any mention of the wanton brazen killings of civilians that go on daily…not one word here. . .”

    I looked back 20 or 30 years and I could not find one year where the annual total of murders approached one a day.

    I never identified anyone as a poster child, but hey, if we are going to justify the killing people for breaking the law, I’d prefer we do it to people who don’t clean up their dog’s poop or drivers who speed on city streets.

    And if Mario Woods had been killed by ANY OTHER PERSON WHOSE SALARY IS BEING PAID FROM MY TAX DOLLARS, I WOULD CARE.

    Sorry for the caps – it’s just that I get frustrated when having to state the obvious.

    But really, there’s no point in responding. Your pathetic racist mind is made up.

  16. I dont think its in your best interest to step into the world of statistics if you’re preaching what it sounds like you are. The “anti 48 hills” gang, or w.e we are, would love 48 hills if they decided to report the news instead of op-eds littered with specific wording and obvious bias. I prefer hearing about things i know nothing about/wasnt there for from people who dont already feel “some type of way” about the issue. That way i get to decide how i feel. As for your citing of homicides in the city, since you went there. Do you know how many there were pre suhr era? Do you know how many we averaged throughout the 90’s? Maybe you had’t moved to SF yet, or you might be from here but were fortunate to have lived west of twin peaks your whole life or just NOT in the southeast part of the city or Western Addition. Im not sure what your actual point is, that 52 is alot, or that it isnt. No matter what, all 52 of whatever homicides your refering to are criminal homicides, not manslaughter, self defense killings, theyre cold blooded, illegal, defensless murder. Even though none of the officer involved killings the past 2 years have been that, lets say for the sake of debate that indeed, Alex Nieto, Amilcar-Perez, Mario Woods, and Jessica Williams all were murdered without cause and the officers involved are criminals. Are you saying 52 homicides is the same as 4, worse than 4, or not as bad as 4? Do you feel stupid for weighing importance of deaths like this? Do you not see anything wrong with it? On top of all that, im from this part of the city, bayview. People felt bad when mario woods died, they felt bad when Isaac Espinoza died. They felt bad when Suhr resigned. You sound pretty disconnected from everyone it sounds like you think youre defending. No one here embellishes mario woods or jessica williams the way everyone else seema to…why the hell would we? Yeah deaths sad. Thats why if you go anywhere in bayview, lakeview, fillmore, potrero hill, visitacion valley, youll see white t shirts with our friends and cousins faces painted on the back. Thats why we wear necklaces with our loved ones pictures around our necks, why were all tatted up with names, portraits, and prayers. Because of the 52. If it seemed like you cared about the shootings out here and in any inner city every damn night..itd all feel more genuine. If police didnt have to patrol double rock or sunnydale at 2 in the morning they wouldnt, they do, because of those 52. Not because of those 4. Those 4 are dead because they were molded by the same troubled blocks and broken families that im sure nearly all those 52 were products of too. Dont speak for the hood if you dont know the hood. If you knew the hood, youd know our concerns. And youd know these problems have been here long before Greg Suhr, long before any of you other people decided you wanted to pretend to care. Youve decided what youre down to stick out your neck for, to talk trash about cops. Cuz thats at least something, someone, youve kinda interacted with that you can connect with the bayview on, sorta. Go to a rally or two and the rests history, you probably even met some black people FROM bayview!! And they echo you!! Now you know you know whats up!! Doesnt sound like it. Its lightweight offensive the way you assume you know anything. Yeah mario woods moms sad now that marios dead. If hed died in oakdale alone facedown in the grass, shot by who knows who, you wouldnt care. Justify not caring then and caring now anyway you want. No one in Oakdale-people that knew who did it-would ever help identify shooters or talk to police who come investigate. Thats the issue, not cracked out criminals who you label as poster children of our community.

  17. Doctors and health professionals heal the sick and injured for a living. Im guessing youre putting faith into these particular professionals assesment because of that fact. In other words-you trust them because you assume they know what theyre doing/saying-at least more than we do. Ironic you’d use that exact same logic i used/use and got/get criticized by you/people for using when it comes to professionals making assessments but happen to be police. The fact is if a doctor tells me i have cancer but ill be ok, then i die of cancer the next day, my family and possibly lots more people will be sad and upset. Theyll call everything into question, the doctor might get in trouble, might get fired. I guess it comes down to whether or not you find that punishment fair. I don’t, not if my death is a first in a career of correctly diagnosed and treated patients. That punishment seems excessive and emotionally charged. Coming from people with a right to be upset, but no right to judge a doctor who was incorrect in this particular situation, with these peoples loved one. Leveling sights at the hospital the doctors at, the nurse in the room with him, the university he got his MD from seems even more outrageous. Along with calling into question every othet doctor in the facility i happened to seek cancer treatment at. Catching my drift? I hear you, peace and happiness are two of the most common goals out there. Mario Woods death brought everyone closer to neither. Realistically, the people going to the craziest most stressful situations with the job of ending them all peacefully and happily wont do that everytime. If you can find me a cop who says cops should stop trying ill show you a fucked up cop who shouldnt be one. Funny thing is Greg Suhr was everything the people chanting fire him are demanding for. Hes white, middle aged, looks like he’d fit the part of a Klan leader in the 30’s to a tee if he’d been one. The new chief is literally just a black Greg Suhr. And everyone seems just fine with that. Whatever racist associations idiotic people with no place to make calls from have, be it whites pre concieved notions of blacks or vice versa. Theyre racist associations. Think about why it is youre sitting at your computer monday morning quarterbacking the police so hard then citing doctors who we know nothing abouts assesrtions that death is a public health hazard as the proof that youre right . I dont know why you feel the way you do, i know both of us should stick to ridiculing others when we actually have a place to and that nothing existential should have anything to do with that ridicule, or our perceptions at all.

  18. There are basic facts that are actually simple as well as each situation which is different and complex. If I were on a jury I might not convict some of these officers you really don’t know until you are in the situation. I also don’t know how I would respond if I were confronted with a violent person. on the other hand doctors and medical professionals are calling police brutality a public health crisis that needs to be addressed. So maybe the police need to modify their training in some areas to maintain civil order with less violence.

  19. Dudette, this is the medium were communicating on. I dont particularly want to meet up with some stranger in person to talk about this shit. Neither do you. If you cant handle the serious reactions serious issues garner, maybe you should be quiet-across all mediums-about how you feel about them. Ive run the gamut to you about how and why i give a damn about this, i may be self righteous-according to you-but like youve shown yourself to be too, that really just means youre firm in your beliefs and arent letting me change that. I dont think thats very self righteous and for someone saying they spent a career analyzing characteristics of people, you seem pretty sensitive to a strangers opinions. Have you not heard this opinion before? Is it unbelievable? Are you offended at the swear words? I dont really care how you percieve me because you dont know me, this is a specific, current event, that clearly stirs peoples emotions up across the board. If people exressing sentiment you disagree with are always “self righteous”, thats funny. You felt the need to call what i said into question, dont do that if youre not down to do anything else. That makes youuuu self righteous.

    Since you brought it up, ill touch upon it. Even though ill probably still say too much, too bluntly or something, and get more dismissive responses not addressing anything i take time to say. But fuck it, its not hard to do this and my night shift gives me the 15 minutes it takes to write this junk up. Freddie Gray wasnt given the death sentence for running. He died from an injury sustained unintentionally during what a judge found to constitute a legal apprehension. Thats why 2 of the 6 involved have been acquitted, and the two seperate judges presiding each trial, both whom are notoriously liberal, have called out the prosecutors for even pursuing charges against these cops. Because theres not enough evidence for anything and charges were written up hastily, in a mob climate that took baltimore over. Not because the case was observed objectively and appropriate charges were sought after an unbiased analysis. I guess you dont know the story, or have never been tossed around like a football. Being tossed around sucks. Im sure being arrested, feeling doomed, feeling targeted, hopeless, trapped, all suck. Being so combative, according to testimony (the only thing we have to look at in regards to what people there said individually under questioning) that officers said “fine, dont buckle him if hes gonna kick us in the face for trying”. Everyone else was buckled in. He wasnt cuz he was wreckless, pissed, scared, etc. All understsndable feelings to feel at that time. Similarly, cops get to not do shit if youre not letting them. If you throw your food tray out if your cell at a correctional officer, you dont get food that meal. Tough shit. Freddie wasnt strapped. I wish he was, cuz it sounds like it mightve prevented the young mans death. No one involved is a killer, people whove done more study of the law than either of us combined (not that i ever intend on studying law, dunno bout u) heard more than either of us have about this, and both have acquitted annnnd looked at prosecutors afterwards like wtf were you thinking. Its beginning to look like they werent, that they succumbed to pressure from inherently angry people who made brash accusations at people who value integrity. Regardless of knowing shit about law. Officer Nero is literally innocent, according to law, he didnt murder anyody, or throw anyone around breaking their neck. People like you will of course continue lying, continue saying he actually did and hes actually a murderer. Thats why im thankful you dont judge complex things like this, you dont seem to care about whats known, whats provable, whats reasonable, or what-if anything-any of the cops are guilty, in actuality. You feel bad for a kid who died. I do too. But i dont stop there. You do, and you turn to his “killers” with a trembling finger pointed in their face. I guess you dont hang out in Sandtown in baltimore often, or know much about mario and I’s hood in bayview, you probably had a mom and a dad growing up, were worried about grades and college and got instilled with an interest and desire to help people, based on what you say you do-psychology. Thats great, im not being sarcastic. Pout about self righteousness, dont respond to any of this, dont even read it if you dont care. Police arent the problem, the problem is people like you who decide somehow that what youre focused on is really what me, my friends, family, my neighbors should be concerned over. Ragging on cops at every turn is the extent your assistance, your version of a helping hand. Really its just the only thing youre down to take on because you deal with cops a little bit too, and theyre kinda mean and could prbly be way nicer! Lol fsho. You dont bury friends anually, i doubt you were forbidden from standing outside your house after dark as a kid, or slept in bathtubs at night cuz bullets dont penetrate them, or go to prison to visit friends and family, have friends and family paralyzed by gunshot wounds. All that shit takes precedence. The cops are dealing with this senselessness just like all the people here in parts of SF, baltimore, oakland, all over, not like people wherever youre at are. Keep blaming cops though, hella helpful, thanks..of course i assume you dont understand this stuff on a personsal level because im self righteous and this shit isnt newly jaw dropping as it appears it is to you by how dramatic and appaled you sound. Self righteous my ass. Have a nice life and glad youve found meaning in it..wouldve made a huge difference if each of these vicims found some of that somehow somewhere. You dont understand the shit it sounds like you feel the strongest about. Nice chatting. Peace.

  20. Dude you come across as self righteous and defensive. Most people side with the cops in the overwhelming majority of the cases. Why do you think there were riots in Missouri after the cops were acquitted? Why is no one surprised that there have not been any convictions in the Freddie Gray death? Those cops tossed him around like a used football until his neck broke and the odds are strong that none of them will suffer any consequences. Juries almost never convict the cops of any wrong doing – thats why the cops can abuse people’s Constitutional rights all the time by subjecting them to cruel and unusual punishment and no one cares. But its not really surprising. We live in a f-ck you society – the cops are just a byproduct of everything else that has gone wrong.

  21. Alottttt of people literally say all cops are bad. Of course, being a normal person, probably too understanding, i still think those people are smart and dont really think that. Theyre trying to make a point. Annoyingly, ive heard it 9 million times, its not a point, its an exaggeration that shows their lack of desire to memorize facts, research objectively, and give a real fuck.

    The need for change, like you said, was honest and overwhelming. Which is why Greg embraced it. And invited the piece of shit frisco 5 to come be apart of reform discussion-he valued their input and those low lives valued the spitlight. Its why they have a twitter account, have re-named themselves several times, and had more press confrences than intelligent conversations with those capable of enacting change, even when called out publically and privately, then visited . Its because at least 3 of them, i know smoke too much pot, onei know quite personally. They have nothing to say becaus they arent smart, they dont know SFPD’s history, or SFs history, the city they claim to rep for. I know dudes with frisco tatted across the necks and their backs who would’d made the 5 of them take back every frisco reference theyd ever made. Except Equiptos mom, out of plain old school respect. Those wimps dont know, or rep frisco. Edwin Lindo went to Serra, he referencs being born at St Lukes and “living with his dad here”. Im a 3rd gen SF native, if youre from here, you dont say “i lived with my dad”. You say, im from Glen Park, im from Ingleside-went to St Emydius. Excelsior, went to Epiphany. I hear that shit and i smile cuz thats frisco, these losers nauseate me. Enough about my city though. Idk if youve followed Greg until now, i think Amos Brown, London Breed, Malio Cohen, Sophie Maxwell, Willie Brown, all expressing public sadness at his “scapegoating” (their words, not mine) speaks to a love felt, now stripped from the exact community that lame ass pussy ass progressive losers who wanna feel connected and relevant go outta their way to defend…in the way they thinks right. Not the way thats fucking real. Mario Woods was a felon, he was in the oakdale mob if you know who they are, and he was a lost cause. And i dont like saying that loosely because its damaging and depressing. But lost causes exist, but because he was black, the Mission and any new sf resident of less than 10 years rises up talking tough. Sit the fuck down. Come out, like Jerry Fucking Brown did back in the day, a guy these lunatics would call TOO conservative. And spend a night in sunnydale, Brown heard things were outta control at the Pink Palace-and they were. So without security, he showed up and spent the night with a tenant. He didnt pretend to hunger strike and faint after 36 hours. Look the pink palace up if you dunno what it was. Its on Webster and I believe Golden Gate. Its senior housing for the SFHA now, but it was bad. Places like that are the places needing help and attention, bad cops to do, but 90% of the people pissed about Suhr can find me Oakdale on a map, know OJ Simpson is from the Potrero Hill projects and its filled with murals of that murderers face, and they probably think the Pink Palace is some gay club. They dont know shit, Suhr did. He knew everything. Its sad cuz he knew he did too, and hes too nice a guy. A different breed from these embarrassments out today. He volunteered to Ed Lee two weeks ago to resign, or be fired, if he thought it would help. Lee said no. Then Jessica Williams gets shot, as soon as i heard she was “unarmed” (meaning now, and inaccurately, no gun or knife..a cars a fucking weapon) and she was under 30, and she was black (gasp), i was sad for Greg. He wore his dorky police hat they all hate wearing out for the last time to the crime scene, he wanted to and had as many tools as any replacement will as for fixing the department, and he said “this is exactly what we didnt want”. Liberal news scumbags pounced on the comment…”the killer admits hes horrible at the job”. No. Hes honest and he knew that that was his last day doing what he loved. He brought Toney Chaplin to his meeting with Ed Lee and made him sit outside, he knew he wasnt gonna be a cop anymore, and he asked ed if he could help picking a successor if ed was ok with it. Ed said sure, who is he, and Greg said hes outside may i introduce you. Its a shame what this cities become, its disgusting. These people arent san francisco and ill slap them into 2025 if any if em say a word about SFPD, “blood on hands”, except the old lady of course, shes just loopy as hell. People take Gregs ousting personally since he was perfect. People expect all police to be perfect too, all of anything wont be perfect. So we just fucked a good guy over. Trash the cops if you need to trash people after mutual tragedies, theres no logical reason to blame Greg-political and scapegoating reasons aside.

  22. Where is this “most progressive police chief” label coming from? My sense of the SFPD is that there is a “good old boy” network and the Suhr is part of it (think Fajitagate, in which Suhr was peripherally involved).

  23. But you can’t bring yourself to say it:

    That people killed, but not by the police, are as important as those killed by police…..

    Can you?

  24. So there you go: you literally agree that the only deaths you care about are those caused by cops. The others you ignore because they cant serve your agenda. Im glad you admit it though.

  25. “. . .nor generally any mention of the wanton brazen killings of civilians that go on daily…not one word here. . .”

    Maybe it is because there are not “daily” “killings of civilians” – there were 52 homicides in SF last year.

    I know that the anti 48 Hills crowd like to spew lies, demean the disempowered and argue from ideology instead of the facts, but you really should use the Google machine to know what the fuck you are talking about.

    As for the police shootings, even Ed Lee called the killing of Mario Woods “death by firing squad.”

  26. An interesting point, but you didnt address mine…but am I assume you are blaming the police not onky for the police killings (obviously), but for the rise in crime as well? Interesting, but typical 48Hills mentality: cops are evil and can do no good.

  27. Crime rates soaring, police killings unabated, who the fuck cares that Suhr is ‘recognized’? He was doing a lousy job.

  28. Defending the police despite overwhelming circumstances that indicate a need for change can be as misguided as publicly condemning all police for the misconduct of a few. No one suggested that all the cops in SF are bad but it can be a sign of honesty and good character to acknowledge that some changes are needed.

  29. Yay, a 30-year member of the force who is recognized as among he most progressive police chiefs is run out of town…..Just like the 48 Hills crowd likes it: symbolic firings tha accomplish nothing….And yet still not a word here about the gang killings that took fours lives in the Western Addition three years ago (a case that has never been solved because the community is too scared to say anything) nor generally any mention of the wanton brazen killings of civilians that go on daily…not one word here…….but maybe Suhr’s resignation to will lead to coverage of that, right?

  30. Dudette, there was like, 2 or 300 people that marched. Theres almost 900,000 people in this city. Maybe youre not from here or you don’t get out and chat with real san franciscans much, youre the one whose nuts if you think Equipto and Sellassie represent The City at large. They speak to rebellious, cannabis card carrying 18-25 year olds and some people scattered about the Mission District-which hardly represents SF as a whole. None of those 4 supes are from SF, all of them supported Suhr, then didnt when Jane Kim turned out to be the one with the biggest balls outta the group and said he should leave. But shes running for higher office and has pushed a sensationalist campaign as opposed to Weiners logistical campaign. She, the Frisco 5, Frisco500,5000, whatever, all lucked out with todays tragedy. They owe it all to the cop who shot the young woman, it wasnt that fake hunger strike or those brats who tore city hall apart that brought about Suhrs resignation. It was the bullet that got fired this morning at Shafter & Elmira. I encourage you to actually care about this issue once the majority of the people enamored with it as an anti-establishment cause get bored or find a new cause to pontificate for. I’ll be paying attention because i live here, two blocks from Shafter & Elmira actually. I know victims of violence, the man Mario Woods stabbed-ironically. And i know police who’re being blamed for everything. I cant really escape the issue. I think theres been plenty of outrage, its just not coming from people…people really living in the Bayview. I know cuz i live here. The Bayview loves Suhr and has for years. The people benefitting from the police here-most of us-have no reason to push SFPD away, we need them. And no one here thinks the departments full of thugs, theyve tried hard to build relationships with the community and were not foolish so we dont let one, two, three or four people taint a group of thousands. I dont particularly care what, or even know what “the medical community” is or has concluded. I deal with lots of public health hazards everyday, the cops have never been one for me. Theyre annoying sometimes. Theyre especially annoying when you steal cars and dont feel like going to prison. Public health hazard #1 in my neighborhood and in SF is all these well intentioned people that’re just flat out misguided. I guess if you think youre doing something the truth isnt important. Greg Suhr was one of a kind, Chaplans great too. But we need to address the 27 year old women, the Mario’s, the Alex Nietos..before they hurt people or speed away from cops and responsibility. No one except families immediately effected by police violence think thats the problem out here, theyre anguish is understandable. The police are just only thing youuuu people seem to care about. Eery silence from the peanut gallery when shots ring out in sunnydale, potrero hill and bayview every night. Thanks for getting rid of Greg..

  31. Agreed, i think the public needs to also see past the smoke screen thats been created, in part by unrealistic people like the Frisco 5. No, it doesnt mean the Frisco 5 know whats what because Suhr stepped down, to anyone who believes that. Theres no such thing as a perfect police force, perfections not a real thing. I like what i hear about Chaplan, and for what its worth-and at the risk of perpetuating reverse racism-maybe its good to not have a middle aged bald white dude in charge. Even though prior to Mario Woods death and those texts, and even after those things honestly, Suhr’s well respected and knows alot of shit. San Francisco loses by hanging him out to dry like this, but as soon as i heard what happened today i knew what was coming. I take solace in the fact Greg’s getting a pension of like 85% and he can enjoy himself instead of being belittled and disrespected daily by pea brained liberal fucks from the public and city hall. Native’s got native’s backs, fuck the phony frisco 5.

  32. ““For the past many months everyday I have asked myself is the path to reform best advanced by current department’s leadership and it has been my goal and remains real reform and restoration of trust,” Lee said. Lee has received a lot of criticism for his support of Chief Suhr “While I have previously expressed confidence in Chief Suhr, after this morning I have arrived at a different conclusion.””

    “Acting Chief Chaplin takes his new office with the knowledge that if he can’t reform the department, he will also be held to account. And that’s a critical victory for the community.”

    Oh lordy. Any guesses who wrote those particular paragraphs?

  33. I think other strategies are needed, including solid investigative reporting of the POA, exposing all of their issues and social media campaign that publicly shames any politician who directly or indirectly benefits from POA political donations.

    We need to make the POA look worse than Monsanto, donations-wise.

  34. Good riddance to bad rubbish, but the culture of the SFPD is rotten to the core. That didn’t start with Suhr and that won’t end with his ouster.

  35. Tim’s political instincts were spot on for this one. Props for calling Suhr’s resignation early and without weasel word qualifiers.

  36. Not glad to see Suhr go. But despite his personal presence, what he was doing wasn’t working; problems seemed to only accelerate.

    Public employee unions need to be drastically curtailed. They have too much influence over policy. And there’s no real ‘adversary’ system, like in the private sector, to keep things in check – union and govmint scratch each others back. This doesn’t mean employees don’t deserve effective representation against abuse by managers. But what we have now is the inmates running the asylum.

    Lets hope the SFPD can change and reflect all the efforts, dedication and integrity from officers of good will.

  37. You are nuts if you don’t think that the hunger strike, the hundreds who marched to City Hall, four supes who stood for Suhr’s resignation, and members of the medical community who just last night called the SFPD a public health hazard did not tip the scales. Police brutality would have continued as it had been continuing had these groups not stepped up and put a bigger voice to community outrage.

  38. Crazy people can do crazy things. Even on rims, a car can get lethal. And just last week, a guy died at the hands of some cops using tasers, so thats no guarantee.

  39. Why can’t cops use tranquilizer guns to subdue people they perceive as a threat? whatever happened to shoot to maim? How dangerous is someone inside a car after a cop shoots out the tires?

  40. Chaplans the man. Veteran, gang task force and inspector background. A shame that Greg needed to leave, were not less likely to have a homeless man with a butcher knife shot by one of our 2,500 cops tomorrow than we were today. And whatever ‘reforms’ are coming, theyre Gregs ideas. Today was just a game changer, he knew it. The only thing that’ll irk me is people like Tim Redmond and Equipto, Tim will cite his article from earlier this week as a prophecy, like he knew a cop would kill a woman today and force Ed’s hand. Equipto and Co. are already posting “pictures of the year” from their stunt on Valencia, and i’m sure the 5 of them think theyre the reason for this. The picture of the year oughta be a picture of the cop from todays face. You owe it to him. I bet he’d be hard pressed to think of a shittier day he’s had in quite some time. Those hippies who think they were hunger striking did organize theyre troops, ill give them that. They know that just yesterday their entire endeavor was widely regarded as a flop. The truth is theres police who arent afraid to use their guns in SF. Thieves and lunatics beware. It’ll be even more mind numbing when the investigation of todays incident comes back and theres no charges filed. Because a cars a deadly weapon and the only witness said she was going “back and forth” in it with two cops trying to arrest her. Oh well, Suhrs the man, Chaplans the man, and it’ll be great hearing what the frisco 5 have to say once SFPD is “reformed”, and a criminal gets shot.

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