S.F. supervisors approve day of remembrance for Mario Woods

Gwen Woods (center), is overcome with emotion as Supervisor Jane Kim apologizes for the fatal shooting of her son Mario Woods, at City Hall, in San Francisco, California on Tuesday, January 12, 2016. Gwen Woods (center), is overcome with emotion as Supervisor Jane Kim apologizes for the fatal shooting of her son Mario Woods, at City Hall, in San Francisco, California on Tuesday, January 12, 2016. Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Gabrielle Lurie, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close S.F. supervisors approve day of remembrance for Mario Woods 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a day of remembrance Tuesday for Mario Woods, the stabbing suspect shot to death last month by several police officers, in a vote that ratcheted up tensions between the supervisors and the police union.

Several supervisors railed against what they described as bullying behavior by the Police Officers Association, and said they would not be intimidated. The union called the resolution “completely inappropriate.”

The resolution said that “while several supervisors and the chief of police have privately expressed their condolences, the city and county of San Francisco has not publicly apologized to Gwen Woods,” Mario Woods’ mother.

It declares his birthday, July 22, to be “Mario Woods Remembrance Day in San Francisco.” It also offers Gwen Woods “sincere condolences for the loss of her son and apologies for the way in which she has been treated since her son’s death.”

No say for Lee

As a resolution, the board’s action does not go before Mayor Ed Lee for his signature or veto. Lee has said that “there are ways to express your sadness, but I don’t think it necessary to sign a resolution.”

Police say Woods, 26, was a suspect in a Bayview stabbing and was carrying a knife when he was confronted by several officers Dec. 2 at a Muni bus stop. Police say they fired four nonlethal beanbag rounds at him and tried using pepper spray, but that Woods would not surrender.

Video taken of the confrontation showed Woods starting to walk away from police when five officers opened fire with at least 15 rounds. Critics of how police handled the incident say there’s no indication on the videos that Woods was lunging at or otherwise threatening the officers.

Union angry

The district attorney’s office, police and Office of Citizen Complaints are investigating whether the officers either committed a crime or violated department policy. On Monday, Lee asked the federal Justice Department to look into the Woods killing and other police actions.

Also on Monday, the Police Officers Association sent the supervisors a strongly worded letter deriding the Woods Day resolution. It cited several police officers and firefighters who were killed on the job, and said the city hadn’t designated a day in their honor.

“It will be a hurtful day to their families if this city’s elected officials decide to recognize and honor an individual that preyed upon our most vulnerable citizens,” wrote union President Martin Halloran.

Several supervisors said the union was using strong-arm tactics.

‘This is a victory’

Supervisor David Campos, who authored the Woods Day resolution with Supervisor John Avalos, told his board colleagues, “By standing up to the bullying and intimidation we have seen, you are not only standing up for yourself, for your family, but you are standing up for an entire city.”

“We won’t be intimidated by the POA,” board President London Breed said. “This is a victory, but we have so much more work to do.”

Breed and some of the board’s more moderate members were running the risk of longer-term political damage by defying the police union. The union seldom funds progressive candidates, but it has thrown its money and weight behind moderates, including Breed during her 2012 campaign. She is up for re-election in November.

Although Tuesday’s vote was unanimous, it was not without backroom drama. Breed and Supervisor Malia Cohen, who represents the Bayview where the shooting happened, were initially angry that Campos and Avalos introduced the resolution without approaching them.

Campos and Breed hug

There was no sign of that acrimony Tuesday. Breed, Campos and others took pictures with Woods’ mother in the board chambers after the resolution passed. Campos and Breed, who aren’t on speaking terms, even hugged.

“Today we call out Mario Woods, but Mario Woods is a symbol for those that don’t have a place in history — that may have died tragically and nameless,” Cohen said.

The police union has previously criticized Cohen for questioning the officers’ actions in the Woods shooting, saying she was making “dangerous and inflammatory statements based on little more than an eight-second video clip.”

‘Politicizes a tragedy’

The police union vice president, Tony Montoya, said after Tuesday’s vote, “Unfortunately, today’s resolution only politicizes a tragedy and does not engage us in a meaningful dialogue, but instead assuages blame and lack of understanding of what men and women of this department do every day to keep our city safe.”

Lee sidestepped a question about his reaction, noting that he had asked the Justice Department to investigate and saying, “I think I have done my part. ... We will take whatever they investigate and will work with those consequences.”

Emily Green is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: egreen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @emilytgreen