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| San Francisco Forces Out Police Chief After Officer Kills Black Woman | San Francisco Forces Out Police Chief After Officer Kills Black Woman |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| SAN FRANCISCO — Police Chief Gregory P. Suhr was forced out on Thursday after a fatal shooting of a black woman by a police officer, the third killing since December involving the police force, which is under federal investigation because of complaints of racial bias. | SAN FRANCISCO — Police Chief Gregory P. Suhr was forced out on Thursday after a fatal shooting of a black woman by a police officer, the third killing since December involving the police force, which is under federal investigation because of complaints of racial bias. |
| Mayor Edwin M. Lee said he had asked for Chief Suhr’s resignation after learning of the shooting. | Mayor Edwin M. Lee said he had asked for Chief Suhr’s resignation after learning of the shooting. |
| “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,” the mayor said in the statement. | “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,” the mayor said in the statement. |
| Chief Suhr had made “meaningful” reforms of the police force, the mayor said, “but it hasn’t been fast enough.” | Chief Suhr had made “meaningful” reforms of the police force, the mayor said, “but it hasn’t been fast enough.” |
| “That’s why I have asked Chief Suhr for his resignation,” the mayor said. Efforts to contact Chief Suhr by calling and emailing representatives of the Police Department were unsuccessful. | |
| Disclosures that some police officers sent racist text messages, and the shootings of a black man in December and a Latino man in April, shook the city and led to calls for Chief Suhr’s removal. Despite the turmoil, Chief Suhr had retained the support of many influential African-Americans in San Francisco, including a former mayor, Willie L. Brown Jr., and the head of the local chapter of the N.A.A.C.P., the Rev. Amos C. Brown. | Disclosures that some police officers sent racist text messages, and the shootings of a black man in December and a Latino man in April, shook the city and led to calls for Chief Suhr’s removal. Despite the turmoil, Chief Suhr had retained the support of many influential African-Americans in San Francisco, including a former mayor, Willie L. Brown Jr., and the head of the local chapter of the N.A.A.C.P., the Rev. Amos C. Brown. |
| Mr. Brown, who over the past year advised the police chief on rooting out bias in the force, said he regretted Chief Suhr’s firing. | Mr. Brown, who over the past year advised the police chief on rooting out bias in the force, said he regretted Chief Suhr’s firing. |
| “This is a good, compassionate man who has been scapegoated,” Mr. Brown said. | “This is a good, compassionate man who has been scapegoated,” Mr. Brown said. |
| “He was trying to change the culture of the police force,” he said. “I still feel that we were on our way under his leadership to do good things with that department.” | “He was trying to change the culture of the police force,” he said. “I still feel that we were on our way under his leadership to do good things with that department.” |
| But he also said he was happy the mayor named Deputy Chief Toney Chaplin as interim chief, calling him someone with “character, competency and the chemistry and courage to continue what we have started.” | But he also said he was happy the mayor named Deputy Chief Toney Chaplin as interim chief, calling him someone with “character, competency and the chemistry and courage to continue what we have started.” |
| Mr. Chaplin, a 26-year-veteran of the police force, is black. Chief Suhr is white. | Mr. Chaplin, a 26-year-veteran of the police force, is black. Chief Suhr is white. |
| The shooting on Thursday occurred in Bayview, the neighborhood where Mario Woods, a black man armed with a knife, was fatally shot by the police in December. | The shooting on Thursday occurred in Bayview, the neighborhood where Mario Woods, a black man armed with a knife, was fatally shot by the police in December. |
| The Associated Press said a sergeant shot and killed a 27-year-old woman on Thursday as the sergeant and another officer were trying to pull her out of a stolen car she had crashed into a parked truck. | The Associated Press said a sergeant shot and killed a 27-year-old woman on Thursday as the sergeant and another officer were trying to pull her out of a stolen car she had crashed into a parked truck. |
| San Francisco’s public defender, Jeff Adachi, said he was “deeply disturbed” by the shooting and repeated a call for the California attorney general’s office to open a civil rights investigation into the San Francisco Police Department. | San Francisco’s public defender, Jeff Adachi, said he was “deeply disturbed” by the shooting and repeated a call for the California attorney general’s office to open a civil rights investigation into the San Francisco Police Department. |
| “It is unacceptable for police encounters with unarmed citizens to end in bullet wounds and body bags,” Mr. Adachi said in a statement. | “It is unacceptable for police encounters with unarmed citizens to end in bullet wounds and body bags,” Mr. Adachi said in a statement. |
| Chief Suhr’s departure, which comes days after he pledged not to resign, is the latest in a series of exits of big-city police chiefs who have come under intense pressure during the past year after public anger over the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police officers. | Chief Suhr’s departure, which comes days after he pledged not to resign, is the latest in a series of exits of big-city police chiefs who have come under intense pressure during the past year after public anger over the deaths of African-Americans at the hands of police officers. |
| Last July, Baltimore’s police commissioner, Anthony W. Batts, was fired when parts of the city erupted in rioting after video emerged of officers arresting an African-American man who later died of an injury sustained in police custody. | Last July, Baltimore’s police commissioner, Anthony W. Batts, was fired when parts of the city erupted in rioting after video emerged of officers arresting an African-American man who later died of an injury sustained in police custody. |
| In Chicago, Garry F. McCarthy, the police superintendent, was dismissed in December after police video was released to the public showing an officer shooting a black teenager 16 times. | |
| Chief Suhr, 57, survived calls for his own resignation last year after mobile phone video showed police officers fatally shooting Mr. Woods, 26. The police said Mr. Woods had been armed with a knife and had refused to follow police orders. Officers fired at Mr. Woods 15 times, and Chief Suhr defended the shooting, angering many African-American residents. | Chief Suhr, 57, survived calls for his own resignation last year after mobile phone video showed police officers fatally shooting Mr. Woods, 26. The police said Mr. Woods had been armed with a knife and had refused to follow police orders. Officers fired at Mr. Woods 15 times, and Chief Suhr defended the shooting, angering many African-American residents. |
| After that shooting and the discovery that a number of police officers had been sending racist and homophobic text messages to one another, demonstrators called for Chief Suhr’s removal. In response to the scandal, he announced that all officers on the 2,000-member force would be required to complete anti-bias training, and he said the department would take steps to curb the use of force. | After that shooting and the discovery that a number of police officers had been sending racist and homophobic text messages to one another, demonstrators called for Chief Suhr’s removal. In response to the scandal, he announced that all officers on the 2,000-member force would be required to complete anti-bias training, and he said the department would take steps to curb the use of force. |
| Residents of the city’s shrinking African-American community said the police had racially profiled them for years, arresting blacks for petty crimes like loitering and smoking marijuana that were ignored in white neighborhoods. | |
| As protests continued, Mr. Lee asked the Justice Department to investigate the force, and a federal inquiry was announced in January. Other cities have made similar requests in the past, including Washington and Philadelphia, when their police departments came under criticism. |