Protesters took to the streets of San Francisco during Super Bowl festivities Saturday to protest the police shooting of Mario Woods.
The protesters vehemently called for the resignation of San Francisco Police Chief Gregory Suhr and the prosecution of at least five officers who were involved in Woods’ shooting last December. The protesters marched downtown and made their way to one of the entrances to Super Bowl City but were blocked by police.
In a police confrontation that was caught on tape last December, multiple officers surrounded Woods and fired a barrage of bullets at the 26-year-old, killing him almost instantly. At the time, police said they feared for their lives because Woods had been wielding a knife in a threatening manner and had already cut one other person.
After the Bayview man’s death, reports came out that several of the officers involved in the shooting had previously been the subject of misconduct allegations.
This past week, San Francisco supervisors voted to honor Woods with a formal day of remembrance on July 22. Both the mayor, the police officers association and some members of San Francisco opposed the decision on grounds that the shooting was ruled justified.
On online petition against commemorating Woods gained more than 4500 signatures.
