SAN FRANCISCO—On Friday, January 8, Mayor Edward Lee was sworn into office for his second term as Mayor of San Francisco at 11:30 a.m at City Hall. During the hour-long ceremony, a wave of protestors of the Justice for Mario Woods Coalition rallied and protested by shouting over public officials, and demanding that Lee and San Francisco Police Department Police Chief Greg Suhr be fired from office. The protests have been an ongoing demonstration advocating justice for the wrongful death of 26-year-old Mario Woods who was shot by at least five officers in San Francisco’s Bayview District.
The protests have been targeted at Suhr because he made a statement justifying the actions of the five officers by indicating Woods had his arm up and was consequently shot for allegedly preparing to stab one of the officers. Civil Rights Attorney John Burris announced in a press conference on December 11, 2015 that the video captured by the spectator’s cell phone showed no such evidence of Woods raising his hand with the knife.
According to City Hall officials, the protestors at the City Hall rotunda were so loud during Lee’s inauguration that both Governor Jerry Brown and Mayor Lee had to raise their voices in order to be heard through the crowds’ shouting and booing. Many protestors carried signs stating “Fire Suhr,” while they were chanting “Fire Ed Lee, Fire Chief Suhr, Justice for Mario Woods.” Sheriff deputies confiscated numerous signs and escorted several people out of the building. About 10 protestors were briefly detained from the crowd of dozens, but were later released without arrest, according to authorities.
Lee stated in his address that he will be focussing on affordable housing, city finances, the homeless population, public transportation, and the city public safety network in his second term. Lee also briefly addressed the growing divide between his relationship with the minority population. “I won’t stop until we build better trust between the police department and the communities they’re sworn to protect, especially young people of color,” said Lee.
