San Francisco supervisors unanimously approve Mario Woods' Remembrance Day

SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU/BCN) - In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors approved a day of remembrance for Mario Woods. The day will be observed in the city on July 22nd, which is Woods' birthday. 

This comes on the heels of a letter from the SF Police Officers’ Association that called the resolution, authored by Supervisor David Campos, “completely inappropriate”.

Campos said he wanted to honor Woods as a symbol of police reform that is so desperately needed at SFPD.

In addition, Campos said the resolution was intended to honor others recently killed in officer-involved shootings,including Alex Nieto and Amilcar Perez-Lopez.

"We, as San Francisco, the city of Saint Francis, see nothing wrong with recognizing that we have a problem," Campos said today. 

SFPOA wrote a letter on Monday to the Board’s president, Supervisor London Breed, saying that a yes vote on the resolution was a slap in the face to officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Supervisor Breed said she would not be intimidated.

Woods’ mother Gwen Woods said, "They can have a day for my baby,” as she hugged and thanked supervisors in the City Hall chambers.

"Sometimes you have to stand up and look life in the eye," Woods said. "Everyone can't be bullied."

Gwen Woods said she was recently approached by young boys asking her if she was Mario's mother and asking for her picture, and it hit her, "we have to make it safe for them to walk around." 

Woods was shot at least 15 times and killed by at least five SFPD officers December 2nd. Videos of his shooting death have been widely documented and have been the focal point of many protests that have seen demonstrators call for the resignation of SFPD Chief Greg Suhr and even calls for the resignation of Mayor Ed Lee.

Police say Woods' was a suspect in a stabbing that occurred before his shooting and that he was armed with a knife when they approached him. 

Mayor Lee recently announced that he has called for a federal investigation into the actions of the police department in the wake of Woods’ shooting, but after he spoke, Lee was hounded by hecklers in the hallway. He was met with demands to know why more action hasn’t been taken.