Dear Chief Suhr,

I think you may realize the shit-storm that you’re now swimming in, but for whatever reason you don’t seem to have found a way to crawl out. I’m writing you to provide a path that I believe will allow both you and the #frisco5 to escape unscathed, and I hope you will give it serious consideration.

Let’s put aside any responsibility you may have for the officer-involved shootings under your watch. Let’s also put aside whether your officers acted within the bounds of the law, and whether their actions were right or wrong.

What matters now is that the city is filled with a growing number of people who do not trust the SFPD; in turn, they have no confidence in your leadership. This perception is growing all over the United States, catalyzed by the #blacklivesmatter movement.

I hope you agree that every person killed by police is a tragedy, and that an officer’s role is never that of executioner. If you do agree with me, then you also should agree that it is our duty as human beings to act to stop these killings.

As San Francisco goes, so goes California; and as California goes, so goes the nation. In 2016, what once were isolated “San Francisco values” have become state and federal laws. The #frisco5 may have actually opened the door for you to become a leader in humane policing, and I hope you will step through it.

If you don’t, my friends will die. I hope you realize that’s how serious this has become. The #frisco5 are demanding for your resignation, but you don’t seem willing to consider that option, and Mayor Ed Lee has said he will not fire you. Personally, I worry that whomever the mayor might choose to replace you would only make matters worse. There were corrupt officers in the SFPD before you arrived, and there will almost certainly be corrupt cops long after you are gone.

Just as you depend on the trust and respect of your officers to command them, you and your officers must depend on the trust and respect of the community for you to serve the city and people of San Francisco. Thousands of us, particularly people of color, no longer trust your officers to protect and serve our communities.

If you are not willing to resign, I urge you to acknowledge your failure in developing a police department that has earned the trust and respect of all people living and working in San Francisco; and I call on you to take a leave of absence as chief until you have successfully earned that trust and proved your commitment to transform the SFPD into a global leader in humane policing. Hopefully, this step alone would be enough to encourage the #Frisco5 to resume eating.

While you are away, I encourage you to go on an extended sabbatical and study the practices of police departments around the world who successfully disarm and arrest armed suspects without resorting to violence. Maybe you can even keep a blog during your travels to stay in touch with your officers and the people of San Francisco about what you are learning.

When you return, you can hold a series of community meetings and reveal your plan to reduce the number of officer-involved shootings to zero and virtually eliminate complaints against your officers. If you are sincere, and your plan has merit, the city will welcome you back with open arms.

San Francisco is a story of redemption, and you have a chance to add a new chapter to that story. This is your opportunity to transform the way police all over the country engage their communities. You can still be the hero.

But if you do nothing, then the deaths of the five committed activists will be on your hands. While you may not feel responsible for the four people shot dead by the SFPD in the last two years, the loss of these five souls ready to die for their community will be the fault of you alone.

The choice is obvious, but I worry you will refuse to make it.

Save the lives of the #Frisco5, and that of untold numbers of people who will otherwise die at the hands of the police. Step away as chief, work with the community to develop an acceptable leadership structure during your extended absence, and return with a plan to end this nationwide epidemic of violence.

Sincerely,

Josh Wolf