Novato Woman's Lawsuit Targets SF's Top Cop

A Novato woman on Wednesday filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The suit alleges that Suhr used his power as police chief to fire attorney Kelly O'Haire in retaliation for her work in an internal affairs probe that sought Suhr's dismissal for his role in a 2009 case.

O'Haire is a former San Rafael police officer and Marin County deputy district attorney. She was hired by the city of San Francisco in 2006 and dismissed in 2011 for what she was told were "budgetary reasons," according to her lawsuit.

O'Haire sought Suhr's dismissal for what the Chronicle describes as a procedural misstep in his handling of a 2009 domestic violence case. Suhr was a Deputy Chief when a friend told him that she'd been a victim of domestic violence.

The woman initially declined to make an official complaint despite Suhr's urging that she do so, saying she needed time to think over any action.

Three days later Suhr accompanied the woman when she made a formal complaint.

Prosecutors charged her alleged attacker with two counts of attempted murder, among other felonies.

Suhr was demoted to captain by former Chief Heather Fong for failing to report the alleged incident, a legal requirement.

Suhr was eventually suspended for his actions, but O'Haire's case against him never went to court.

O'Haire's suit alleges that Suhr's attorney warned her that she was "going to be sorry" for her role in the case. She was fired within a month of Suhr's promotion to chief of police in April 2011. 

O'Haire's attorney, Gary Gwilliam, told the Chronicle that the 2009 case itself is not material to his client's lawsuit.

"We don't have to prove that (Suhr) was doing anything wrong, only that he fired (O'Haire) in retaliation for her efforts against him," Gwilliam told the Chronicle.