San Francisco police face US Justice Department review

The protesters had demanded the departure of Police Chief Greg Suhr, who is due to appear alongside Mayor Edwin Lee and federal officials at a news conference at 2 p.m. PST, according to a Justice Department statement on Sunday.

However, the review also follows reports of racist and homophobic messages that were exchanged among several officers.

“It’s not a real investigation”, said a San Francisco law enforcement source familiar with the matter.

Police officers escort demonstrators with the Justice for Mario Woods Coalition on a march past the site of Super Bowl City in San Francisco, Calif. on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016.

“We want to throw our doors open, inviting transparency and accountability”.

Suhr said the five officers opened fire on Woods after he had made a move toward them.

Also in attendance at this afternoon’s media event will be John Burris, the well-known police-battling attorney, who announced in December that he’d be filing a civil rights lawsuit against the SFPD in the Woods case.

The campaign comes amid growing tensions between police and black communities that are shaking up departments across the country and have led to the dismissal of top brass in some cities, including Chicago. He said it’s “a kind of mediation” that allows the Justice Department to offer assistance in improving a police department’s programs.

Supervisor Malia Cohen, who represents the Bayview neighborhood in which Woods was shot, echoed Breed’s statements.

Woods’ family and the American Civil Liberties Union had asked for an additional federal intervention – an investigation of San Francisco police by the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, which enforces federal antidiscrimination laws and can force reforms.

Police say less lethal manners of subduing Woods, like bean bag shots and pepper spray, had failed.

Following the shooting, Suhr argued that the killing was justified, because Woods was a threat to officers. Ms. Williams began work on the pledge after text messages among police officers were released describing her and others with charged racial language.

Five patrol officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave.

Saying video of the shooting had “shocked the community”, the board added, “Police Department policies and practices should not just meet constitutional standards but exceed them”.