Frisco 5 hunger strikers hospitalized on Day 16

Five hunger strikers have been hospitalized after fasting for 16 days to try and force San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to fire police Chief Greg Suhr.

“Due to their deteriorating health, all five of the hunger strikers have been hospitalized. At this time we are not able to release any additional information due to privacy concerns,” hunger strike organizers wrote on Facebook today.

Meanwhile, about 40 of their supporters have gathered inside City Hall on the steps in the main lobby, chanting “fire Chief Suhr,” cheering, singing and creating deafening echoes in the cavernous building.

The hunger strikers, dubbed the #Frisco5, are calling for Suhr’s job in the wake of police shootings like of Mario Woods, Alex Nieto, Amilcar Perez-Lopez and Luis Gongora.

In wheelchairs with hundreds of supporters, they marched to City Hall on Tuesday demanding to speak with the mayor, but found he was not in his office. As they rallied at City Hall, Lee posted photos on Twitter of himself at events elsewhere in the city.

On Thursday, the hunger strikers said they spoke to Lee by phone.

He stood by Suhr, and said the chief was working on making reforms to the department.

But the hunger strikers vowed to continue their protest, saying they would not stop until Suhr gets fired or steps down.

Bay City News

Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area. © 2022 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.