Within hours, ex-SFPD Chief Suhr in and out of Warriors job

The Warriors briefly retained former San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr as a security consultant, but ended the relationship Thursday just hours after it was announced amid backlash on social media from activists.

The once-embattled top cop was hired to advise on security issues on an as-needed basis. He was supposed to help the team prepare for its groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday at the site of its new arena in Mission Bay, a few blocks from the police headquarters he previously oversaw.

“Chief Suhr is an expert on public safety, security issues, event planning and operations, VIP protection, risk assessment, and other related matters,” the team said in an initial statement. “The organization is happy to have him on board.”

But Thursday afternoon, the team released a second statement, which read: “The Warriors and former San Francisco Police Department Chief Greg Suhr have mutually agreed to discontinue his consultant arrangement with the organization, effective immediately.”

Suhr, 58, who was appointed chief in 2011, quit in May at the request of Mayor Ed Lee after several controversial police shootings. Hours before he handed in his resignation, a Bayview sergeant shot and killed an unarmed woman in a stolen car.

The 30-year veteran of the department also fielded criticism as chief when a scandal came to light involving a number of officers exchanging racist and homophobic text messages.

“The last thing I want to do is cause a distraction for the Warriors during this incredibly positive time for the team and organization,” Suhr said in a statement. “I think this is in the best interest of everyone.”

Suhr rose through the ranks of the Police Department, starting his career as a beat patrol officer and later holding positions as a narcotics investigator, patrol commander and captain of two stations. In the year and a half he led the Bayview station, homicides dropped almost 50 percent.

Last month, Lee named William “Bill” Scott, a longtime Los Angeles deputy police chief, to take Suhr’s place following a months-long search.

Some activists who had campaigned for Suhr’s firing were less than thrilled to hear that he had received the job helping the Warriors.

On Twitter, Shaun King, a columnist for the New York Daily News, called it “a mess” and claimed the team was “propping up police brutality and misconduct.”

Sellassie Blackwell, a protester who refused to eat food for 17 days to demand Suhr’s resignation, said he wasn’t surprised at the decision by the team to hire him, given that players didn’t speak out during the demonstrations against Suhr last year.

“I don’t want to throw the Warriors under the bus,” said Blackwell, a San Francisco hip-hop artist. “But I think everyone in the Bay Area knows who Greg Suhr is. It rings a bell in everyone’s mind. Why would the Warriors hire him with his spotty record as a police chief?”

Amid the social media fury, Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala tweeted, “On it ...” A spokesman for the team declined to say whether pushback from players contributed to the short-lasting deal with Suhr.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov