The department wants to replace police officers with private security guards at San Francisco General and Laguna Honda hospitals to save money, but hospital workers say rising violence in overburdened facilities here and across the United States makes this a bad move.
City mayoral candidates joined in opposing the proposed cuts.
"They (the police) make sure our patients are safe," said supervisor John Avalos. "They make sure that our nurses and doctors and hospital staff are safe. They make sure that our public health system is the best it can be in the city."
Under Proposition J, the cuts would have to be approved by the city board of supervisors.
