It was supposed to be a celebration, the inauguration of Mayor Ed Lee for his second full term of office. But protesters turned the hour-long ceremony on Friday into a cacophony of boos and shouted demands that Police Chief Greg Suhr be fired.

The protesters, most of them angry about last month’s fatal police shooting of Mario Woods in the Bayview, were so loud that when it came time for Lee to be sworn in by Gov. Jerry Brown, both men had to raise their own voices — nearly yelling — to be heard over the chants and boos in the City Hall rotunda.

“This has been my seventh mayoral inaugural, and I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Ahsha Safai. “It was a spectacle.” Safai, who has held positions in city government and is a candidate for the District 11 supervisor’s seat, lost the 2008 race to John Avalos, who is in his second and final term on the board.

The protests offered a vivid contrast to Lee’s message of consensus-building and cooperation as the city struggles to address the housing crisis that contributed to the widespread displacement of low- and middle-income residents.

“We need to move past pitting one camp against each other because it doesn’t advance our common good,” the mayor said during his speech, only to be answered by still more shouting.

Sticks to script

Before the inauguration, the mayor was in high spirits as he took a series of family pictures and selfies with his two daughters, his wife, mother and other relatives. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Willie Brown — all former San Francisco mayors — and the governor also joined Lee in his office.

The ceremony kicked off around noon, with about 700 people in the audience. It was a Rolodex of politicians, former politicians, political consultants and influential people, from former Supervisors Angela Alioto to the Rev. Amos Brown.

More for you News S.F. Mayor Ed Lee takes protesters at inaugural in stride

Board of Supervisors President London Breed presided over the ceremony. She is known for speaking her mind, but was mild-mannered Friday.

Lee also kept to his script, even as he was booed.

He said his priorities are to address the city’s homeless problem and the housing crisis. He reiterated plans to build or rehabilitate 30,000 homes by 2020 and called for a second BART tube and converting Caltrain from diesel to electricity.

Embrace values, progress

His theme throughout his speech was that the city can embrace progressive values, such as preserving affordable housing, and change at the same time.

“In San Francisco, we have a tremendous opportunity, even responsibility, to demonstrate how a successful city can also be a progressive city. A city that doesn’t fear its future, but invents it. A city that doesn’t resist change, but creates it.”

The mayor said he will apply one standard to every proposal over the next four years: Whether or not it protects or adds housing for low- and middle-income working families.

“If the answer is no, then I’ll oppose it. If the answer is yes, I’ll fight for it,” he said. Critics of Lee have accused him of not being energetic enough in preserving and creating affordable housing.

While Friday’s protest was not unexpected — the Woods demonstrators had promoted their plans — it still brought an element of surprise to the formal affair. Sheriff’s deputies dressed in riot gear detained and later released about 10 protesters.

“We need to revamp the whole system, because they are not doing anything about these cops,” said protester Geoff Smith. “There obviously is some racism going on in the (police) force and it wasn’t addressed by the mayor.”

Protest over shooting

Woods, 26, was African American. He died shortly after being shot by at least five officers in the Bayview on Dec. 2. He was the suspect in a stabbing, and police say he was still armed with the kitchen knife used in the crime. Suhr infuriated many African Americans when he said, before an independent investigation had been conducted, that the officers’ actions were justified.

Another protester at the inauguration, Karlee Johnson, said: “Mayor Lee is complicit in letting killer cops walk. We want Police Chief Suhr fired and indicted.”

Suhr was at the inauguration and left immediately after the ceremony. He didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Linda Ueda, a longtime acquaintance of the mayor’s, called the chants and boos “disturbing.”

“I thought it was very unfortunate,” she said. “Obviously (the protesters) want some public officer fired, but I’m not sure that’s the way to get their point across.”

Lee has supported the police chief, while also calling for several reforms within the department, including implicit racial bias and cultural sensitivity training for all police officers. On Tuesday, he met with community and faith-based leaders from the Bayview to discuss police reforms.

Lee only made glancing remarks about the simmering tensions between the Police Department and the African American community.

“I won’t stop until we build better trust between law enforcement and the communities they’re sworn to protect, especially young men of color,” the mayor said.