Five hunger strikers have been hospitalized after fasting for 16 days to try and force San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to fire police Chief Greg Suhr.
"Due to their deteriorating health, all five of the hunger strikers have been hospitalized. At this time we are not able to release any additional information due to privacy concerns," hunger strike organizers wrote on Facebook today.
Meanwhile, about 40 of their supporters gathered today inside City Hall on the steps in the main lobby, chanting "fire Chief Suhr," cheering, singing and creating deafening echoes in the cavernous building. The group subsequently moved to the area outside Lee's office.
Around 5 p.m. the doors of city hall were closed, and additional protesters were unable to join in.
The hunger strikers, dubbed the #Frisco5, are calling for Suhr's job in the wake of police shootings like of Mario Woods, Alex Nieto, Amilcar Perez-Lopez and Luis Gongora.
In wheelchairs with hundreds of supporters, they marched to City Hall on Tuesday demanding to speak with the mayor, but found he was not in his office. As they rallied at City Hall, Lee posted photos on Twitter of himself at events elsewhere in the city.
On Thursday, the hunger strikers said they spoke to Lee by phone. He stood by Suhr, and said the chief was working on making reforms to the department.
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But the hunger strikers vowed to continue their protest, saying they would not stop until Suhr gets fired or steps down.
"Mayor Ed Lee's refusal to listen to the will of the people has awoken a sleeping giant. The people are demanding that he fire Chief Suhr!! If he does not then he must step down," organizers said in an email.
"They will shut San Francisco down! There will be no more business as usual. As long as this administration is an accomplice to murder, the people will rise up and demand justice."[[378491675, C]]
