Breed’s backing for Tasers doesn’t impress SF police union

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed walks through Portsmouth Square on Feb. 16. San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed walks through Portsmouth Square on Feb. 16. Photo: Jessica Christian, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Jessica Christian, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Breed’s backing for Tasers doesn’t impress SF police union 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

London Breed’s newfound support for arming cops with Tasers hasn’t won the mayoral candidate any points with the San Francisco Police Officers Association.

Breed has been a vocal supporter for police reforms, but only recently came out publicly in support of Tasers.

“I’m not surprised at the change — I think that she is just being advised by her consultants to come more to the center,” said police union President Martin Halloran.

Breed said her support for giving the electronic stun guns to police as a less-lethal alternative to firearms has a simple explanation: “I hate guns. Guns have destroyed the lives of so many in my community.”

The Board of Supervisors president noted that the Obama administration’s Justice Department urged the city to “strongly consider” arming cops with Tasers in a 2016 report that recommended several police changes in the aftermath of a rash of officer-involved shootings.

The Police Officers Association was an early supporter of Breed’s first supervisorial campaign, in 2012, as well as her re-election effort four years later. However, the union later rescinded its re-election endorsement when Breed joined critics of the department in the aftermath of the December 2015 police shooting of Mario Woods.

The union has yet to make an endorsement in the June mayoral election. “And I don’t see us making one in the near future,” Halloran said.

Voters will have their say on the Taser issue in June, on a police union-backed measure to arm officers with the stun guns. Polls have shown support for the idea, and Breed’s switch could be a way for her “to help define herself with voters on the city’s more moderate westside,” said political consultant Tom Hsieh Jr., who is not working with any mayoral campaign.

Mayoral candidate Angela Alioto, who has long supported Tasers for police, expressed mock surprise at Breed’s stance.

“Oh, she came out for it? Will wonders never cease,” the former supervisor said.

The other two leading mayoral hopefuls, Supervisor Jane Kim and former state Sen. Mark Leno, remain opposed to Tasers.

“There’s a lot of flip-flopping that happens during campaign season, but I’ve been consistent,” Kim said. “We need to provide our police officers with the training and resources they need to de-escalate situations safely.”

As for Leno: “No one is talking to me about Tasers,” he said. “It’s a distraction.”

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