SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — One of the biggest stories to shake up the Bay Area was the tumultuous year the San Francisco Police Department endured.
Rowdy protest, revelations of racism, accusations of police violence. In 2016, SFPD was rocked by repeated controversies forcing a reluctant mayor to act.
SFPD began the year under fire for the shooting of Mario Woods in December of 2015. Woods was one of six people killed by SFPD in 2015.
As 2016 began, Mayor Ed Lee was sworn in as protestors booed him. The mayor stood by SFPD Chief Greg Suhr even as new evidence emerged of racist text messages between officers.
Then in April, another fatal officer-involved shooting. A homeless man with a knife was shot six times as he allegedly lunged at officers.
That’s when the Frisco 5 started their hunger strike outside the Mission police station. In week three, protesters invaded City Hall calling for the firing of Chief Shur.The hunger strike lasted 17 days.
Chief Suhr’s time ran out as top cop in late May. Suhr resigned from his position hours after the city’s second deadly officer-involved shooting that year.
Shur’s interim replacement was Toney Chaplin, a 26-year department veteran. By December, Mayor Ed Lee announced that William Scott was been selected to be the new Chief of the San Francisco Police Department.
Scott, who is African-American, is a 25-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department and heads the department’s 1,700-member South Bureau. He is 52 years old.