4 S.F. supes now say Suhr shouldn’t remain as police chief

Supervisors Jane Kim, David Campos, John Avalos and Eric Mar said they had lost faith in Suhr’s ability to reform the department, changes that critics say are needed after a number of fatal police shootings and the revelation of racist text messages sent among some officers.

While the sentiment of the four is not wholly surprising given their political stances — they are among the most progressive members of the Board of Supervisors — the chief had until now maintained the public support of the entire board.

“He’s become a distraction to the department, and I think the police need a leader now more than ever and we should start the transition,” Kim said.

The protests against the chief were driven by the racist text messages and the fatal police shootings of four minority men in the past two years.

[...] Suhr, a charismatic and popular figure both at City Hall and among the Police Department’s rank and file, said he was committed to staying on and reforming the department to emphasize de-escalation practices and violence prevention.

[...] the preliminary findings released Monday of a blue-ribbon panel of three judges created by District Attorney George Gascón to investigate bias in the police force appears to have changed minds.

The panel found that the department had some outdated policies and that it does a poor job tracking officers’ conduct so it can root out problems, among other issues.

“I don’t have a lot of confidence right now in his ability and commitment to lead the department to reform,” Avalos said.

“Police reforms do not work unless the leader of the department wholeheartedly believes in them and can ensure that the rank and file strictly follow those policies,” she said.

Supervisor Scott Wiener accused Kim — his opponent in the race for state Senate — of being motivated by a desire for media attention.

Lee also said politics were at work: “The community has asked us to fast-track change and not put politics before police reforms and, unfortunately, that is exactly what this does,” the mayor said in a statement.