For weeks, a group of courageous Black and Latinx protesters have been on a hunger strike to bring justice to the people of San Francisco—risking their lives to stop violence and killings by police. Their demand is clear: Fire San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr. Our communities are fighting back with love, and we need you.
Since April 2011, when San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee appointed Greg Suhr Chief of Police, SFPD has killed 21 people. And in the last year alone, at least 3 Latinos were killed by San Francisco police. Recently released text messages from SFPD officers show a pattern of racist and homophobic sentiment throughout the chain of command. And across the nation, there is an epidemic of racial bias, police violence, and a lack of accountability in our country's police forces. Thousands have been killed. Millions more have been sucked into the criminal justice system by racially-biased practices. Nearly 350 people have been killed in the United States by police in 2016.
The police are public servants who have sworn to protect lives, and no one should have to live in fear that they might end up killing us instead. But too often, the police treat Latinos and Latinas, Black people, and other people of color like second class citizens. We will not be silent as our communities are brutalized and killed by those that have taken an oath to protect and serve.
Tell San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to fire SFPD Chief Suhr immediately.