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Noah Berger / AP
Suspended San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi and his wife Eliana Lopez arrive at a Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday in San Francisco. The Board planned to vote on removing Mirkarimi, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in a domestic violence case, from office.
SAN FRANCISCO -- A divided San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to reinstate Ross Mirkarimi to his elected post as sheriff late Tuesday after he was suspended by the mayor following a domestic-abuse conviction.
The vote to return Mirkarimi's badge came after a nearly year-long political firestorm within San Francisco over a New Year's Eve quarrel with his wife, Venezuelan soap opera actress Eliana Lopez, that turned violent.
Mirkarimi, a co-founder of California's Green Party, watched during five hours of emotional public testimony from more than 100 of his supporters who called for him to stay, and about 15 domestic-violence advocates who called for his ouster.
The board's 7-4 vote was two votes shy of what was needed to strip him of his elected position.
"The system worked in this case," Mirkarimi, 51, said after the vote. "It took a long way to get here. The next step is mending fences and moving forward."
'Jewel in the crown'
Many of the speakers told supervisors how Mirkarimi had become a voice of the voiceless in the community, showing up at homicide scenes in the middle of the night.
"Ross is the jewel in the crown of San Francisco," said Ursula McGuire, 76, who spoke from her wheelchair. "I want you to reinstate the jewel."
San Francisco sheriff in domestic abuse case to face ethics charge
Domestic-violence advocates urged the board to oust the sheriff.
"If reinstated, Ross Mirkarimi would represent San Francisco's tolerance of domestic-violence crimes," said Katharine Berg, associate director of La Casa de las Madres, a Bay area women's shelter.
Domestic abuse billboard aimed at sheriff's comments
Mirkarimi had launched a legal case seeking reinstatement to his post and his salary. He said he could not be removed for official misconduct because his offense occurred more than a week before he took office as sheriff.
In a cellphone video a neighbor recorded the day after the argument, a tearful Lopez, 36, pointed to a bruise on her arm and said her husband had grabbed it with such force that he left it black and blue.
A day in jail, probation
Lopez testified before a city ethics panel that the neighbor convinced her to document the bruise in case she and Mirkarimi separated.
Lopez said she feared her status as an immigrant could cost her custody of her son if they separated.
Lopez refused to testify against her husband and has stood by him, though a family court judge only recently allowed the couple to reunite after seven months apart.
Biden to lead push for domestic violence law
San Francisco's district attorney charged Mirkarimi on January 13, five days after his installation as sheriff, with misdemeanor counts of domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness.
He struck a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a single, lesser charge, and was sentenced to a day in jail and three years of probation.
But the mayor said Mirkarimi's conduct was a violation of the public trust and his role as a law enforcement officer.
The city's ethics commission voted 4-1 in August that Mirkarimi committed official misconduct.
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Leave a Comment:
I wonder if the little woman will still have that stupid smile on her face the next time, or the time after that. Her loser of a husband would not have his job if common sense had prevailed. Tax-payers should refuse to stand for this. I wouldn't pay this guy to haul away my trash.
People make mistakes.. but in this case, this man made a large mistake and he should resign the office on his own. He may have 'won' back his position, but in the eyes of the public, he is an abuser period.
Sounds like a PC attitude, every case is different and bringing in your prejudice to what seems to be a one time incident is wrong. If the police watched your every move in your relationships I wonder if all of us wouldnt be thrown in jail at some point. San Francisco is the most PC city in the world and if they reinstate this man it says a lot.
I would gladly be a replacement to take his beautiful wife and beat his A on the way out the door with her.
I agree he should have lost his job, but what I don't like that is if an adult, however stupid, wants to go back with their spouse, a judge would keep two married people apart for 7 months. Once the person changes his or her mind, it is no longer the business of the court.
How in gods name did he get his job back!? He should have been fired from his job after serving time for battery. If he weren't a law enforcement agent he wouldn't have been so lucky. There's a DOUBLE STANDARD for cops and they beat their wives more often than most other professions.
DV laws, pretty much the only misdemeanor that gets you booted from your house, lose your job, lose civil liberties, lose the right to own or posses a firearm and pretty much become a second class citizen. Obviously, violence in the home is a horrible thing but even a loud argument can result in a dv charge, arrest and conviction. If you work in any field that requires you carry a service weapon in the line of duty, you get suspended and lose your job. If the police show up at a suspect dv complaint, an arrest is mandatory regardless of whether either of the suspects press charges. The District Attorney can still press charges, even if the victimized spouse chooses not too. Are some pretty creepy laws and I predict someday will be found un-constitutional. So the Sheriff got a second chance to do some good in the world but there are plenty of ordinary working class people in the same circumstance who never will.
These things are usually the wife's fault...
Boy, you got it. By law - FEDERAL LAW - if you've been convicted of a misdemeanor of domestic violence, you lose your right to own or use a firearm. How can you be a sheriff if you can't legally even handle a firearm? Dollars to donuts the douche still packs.
"Mirkarimi had become a voice of the voiceless in the community, showing up at homicide scenes in the middle of the night".
I just hope she doesn't become one of the voiceless.
No law enforcement official should be able to keep their job with a conviction on their record. Their job is to enforce the law, to be an example for the rest of us. I don't care if it's shoplifting, DUI, or wife beating, breaking the law they are sworn to uphold is BS.
This is exactly why we have cops who think they are above the law, because apparently they are.
That being said, this was done before he took office, and it sounds like the DV was a bruised arm. Not acceptable, but as far as wife beating that is about as mild as it gets. They clearly have means, and the woman makes her own money, so if she needs to leave, she can, but she isn't. I say watch the guy like a hawk, one slip and he goes.
I was convicted of domestic assault and battery.
I was leaving because she was hitting me and she ran at me from behind pushing me off a porch. We both landed on cement and I left. I was later picked up. The whole thing cost me about $40,000
The irony, I never hit her in the 3.5 years we were together. She frequently attacked without any warning or even an argument.
If there is violence, any kind of violence, get out of the relationship immediately !
I have lost all faith in our legal system.
He is a public figure, and an officer of the law. He left a bruise. that is unacceptable. It doesn't matter who is the "man" and who is the "woman"- the point is he abused his power, and I'm sure misused his connections, as a public figure. Once convicted, he shouldn't be able to handle a firearm. He should know better than to bruise his wife. No DV- ever. Who knows if this is the first incident? It says his wife is an immigrant- maybe she's afraid to leave over custody issues and immigration status- that sounds like abuse of power to me, and a hell of a good reason to fear leaving. He should have been an example, instead he got off easy. Corruption in government- alive and well in SF.
So, the San Fransisco Sheriff is on the job while he is on parole.... Wow, they must be so proud of the department.....
I wonder if he can carry a gun? I thought it was illegal for those convicted of domestic violence from owning a gun. It doesn't say what the lesser charge was.
what the hell,on probation and still be a police officer,only in californa
Actually it's common for police officers who are charged with domestic violence to get away with it, whether its in California or New Hampshire. The spouse or the signifigant other is going up against the entire police dept., not just the cop who has abused him/her. It's called `The Blue Wall Of Silence` for a reason.
Time to vote the city council out. At least the jerks that kept eyes shut. It should also be impossible for him to decide what domestic violence is. Get rid of this cop and the council.
Now what does this do for all other law enforcement officers who were convicted or plead guilty? Do the get their jobs back? HR 104-208 tells what is suppose to happen when an individual is convicted of Domestic Violence. It appears that high ranking law enforcement officials are immune.
Typical response, stand by the abuser until its too late..Oh its San Francisco, figures.
That attitude is hardly unique to San Francisco.
I wish San Francisco would just fall into the ocean.
voice of the voiceless in the community, showing up at homicide scenes in the middle of the night.
Isn't that a cops job and not something special that they do?
This blows the mind. There is such a thing as being too tolerant and they just proved that.
Not in SF - San Francisco City and County are the same have a unified government - ie the Mayor of SF fired the County SHeriff. Law enforcement in SF is a police force with a POlice Chief. SO what the heck does the SHeriff have to do with anything other than Jail gurads and court officers? Why the heck would he should he show up at criome scenes?
maybe he was running coffee for the real cops then lol
hello
hello
Goodbye
come again
no i am fine
All I can say:
IT IS A MAN'S WORLD AFTER ALL nothing surprises me and I mean NOTHING.
For what it's worth, there are four women on the SF Board of Supervisors. Two voted to oust him and two to reinstate.
Just goes to show " Do as I say not as I do " is still alive and well.....
I think this is standard practice in the law enforcement community.
huh....there's a shocker ...........a straight guy in San Fransisco............:)
Let's see: plead guilty and on probation for three years, but - co-founder of California's Green Party. Hmmm.
If he'd been a member of the communist, GLBT, GreenPeace consortium, they would probably have given him the key to city and run that skanky wife of his out of the country.
Sheesh!
Anyone who cannot control their anger and causes physical injury to someone they supposedly love is not stable enough to be involved in public safety. If he weren't wealthy he would be in jail. Good work from the "Justice For Sale" system.
It might have helped had his wife not been so "supportive." I'll never understand women who stand by their abusers.
he grabbed her arm
Hard to keep things in perspective when blinded by 'I'm right and you are wrong' mentality.
Don't give me the crap about battered spouse syndrome in this case... The lady is a well traveled TV star. She sounds like a person of reasonable mind... She wanted to kiss and make up after the incident but the court wouldn't let her (I'm sure it was due to the "welfare of the child"). But even that court "let" the man and woman get back together.
The court would have had many, many more facts than presented in this story, yet read all the expert posters on here...!!!
So the guy who's job it is is to protect people from violence and abuse, commits the same act and gets to keep his job.
very nice. facism at it's best.
Hey, this is America right?
If you steal a car, you go to jail.
If you steal someone's life savings, you become a CEO and run for President.
Sad but true.
Check out the SF Sheriffs Office website. They are not law enforcement personnel but rather a support organization. They run the jails, provide courthouse security, administrative support and community programs for convicted criminals.
Not cops by any stratch of the imagination though I'm certain that that's what they imagine they are.
15 deleted, lessThan99% with some racism:
Lose the slur. You're suspended for a week for violating #5 of the Code of Honor.
tyler, I want to thank you for taking out that trash. As my mom used to say, now this place is "all cleaned up, spick-and-span". (I could not make that up. Who knew it would one day be a lesson in acceptable word usage?!)
Seriously, when I see a comment that ugly I click "inflammatory" repeatedly; trying to do my part to keep things spick-and-span. I always wonder if I'm wasting my time after one click. If you can direct me to an answer to that, I'd say "thank you" again.
Considering that the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 was a "liberal" diamond and San Fransisco is one of the more "liberal" cities in the US (if one is to accept the "liberal premise", this decision surprises me.
I am one of the people who do feel that VAMA went way too far and allowed to many abuses of the law to be violated, with and without Due Process. Does that mean that I am taking sides? Does that mean that I am ignoring the fact that its common for the abused not to leave their abusers, etc.? Absolutely not. However, this is complete hogwash because, while violence can be legislated, "feelings" about how and why violence happens cannot be measured legally, therefore should not be part of the process.
America will continue to debate these "feelings" for a long time into the future I fear. This is why the reinstatement surprised me. Clearly, even though there was ample evidence showing the incident for what it really was, several would not back away from the "feelings" argument. Fortunately, enough of those present did the right thing.
Ever wonder why it is called the "Violence against WOMEN Act" ? Dose that mean that it is totally ok for men to get the domestic beat down?
Violence will always have great emotion attached to it. Violante creates strong emotion in everyone involved, for the better and the worse.
It may be called the "Violence against Women Act", but it applies to men, too. In fact, the first prosecution under the act was against a woman for murdering her husband. Because she transported his body across state lines, the VAMA was invoked.
I still think Violence Against Persons Act would have been a better, more apt name. I guess my ex wife's beatings made me sensitive to any idea that woman are always the ones that need protection.. It just is not so.
Am I missing something? He grabbed her arm during a heated argument on one occasion. Nothing previous or since has been mentioned. It should be her decision and if she feels safe, good for her. If she feels the least bit threatened or unsure, she should get out immediately. When did every situation in this country become a polarizing black or white case? Are there no degrees of any act anymore? Example: A high school girl tweeting a naked picture of herself to her boyfriend and they both get charged with distribution and possession of child pornography, the same charge as a guy with 10,000 pictures of naked toddlers on his computer. My wife and I have had heated arguments on 2 occasions where hurtful things were said. Should I be convicted of verbal abuse? Am I on the same level as the guy who calls his wife a worthless piece of sh*t on a daily basis? Yeah, I never touched her, but in today's society abuse is abuse. Guess I should be hunted down and thrown to the wolves.
New here? most morons who comment never make it past the headline, those who do....well as i have said before, although reading may be fundamental comprehension is optional................................
Too true scoot, sad...but true.
Is it Scooter be a badger DHead Day?? Your all through this thread making stupid comments. Have an original thought dude if you can or STFU the rest of the day.
On topic, GrammerPolice, you make some good points. It seems that the real serious cases often can slip by for action and the verbal or minor stuff gets the prosecution. My experience is that it is best to walk away and live to see another day.
727
no
wtf scooter you can not be nice to the mean man,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
She should have killed him and saved the world from this bastard.
yep...one less evil "arm grabber" out there...................get a rope.....................
"San Francisco" sez it all. If we are very lucky the whole state, Clint Eastwood and all, will just slide off into the Ocean.
O&Joe 12
what if it Wash's up in Hawaii?...........................................:)
Capt'n Morgan / Busch 2012
You are, of course, a trolling moron, with the IQ of a fencepost. Were your parents siblings, by chance? That might explain you.
did not know fence posts recieved I.Q. tests,would explain dumber than a box of rocks saying,,,,
Don't know how my post showed up standalone, when it was a reply to the Lessthan99% troll.
I know that in some states like NJ, you can't even get a firearms purchaser ID if you have a history of domestic abuse. I guess the laws are different in CA.
same in Iowa.... but if ya got firends......well ya know how it goes.
Here's my take if anyone really cares - forgetting if there even was a real abuse situation, he had not yet been sworn in as SHeriff at the time of the alleged crime, I don't think the Mayor even had standing to fire him since it did not occur while he was in office. Now the part I dont understnad is how could the SUpervisors Ethics comittee find him guilty and the whole board let him off - better yet when is spusal abuse an ethics issue it is a criminal issue.
your opinion matters to me ( i like the name holly)....but frankly you also made some valid points, forget where you were?
your use of capitals is ridiculous, it actually takes away from any information you are trying to convey in your posts. It makes you sound like you are 12 years old.
He was already elected Sheriff, so as far as I'm concerned he was to hold himself to at least a normal standard. Forget the Officer's Creed that calls for him to be a model to all those around them... He's a dirty cop now. I'd never serve under him.
A coward wife abuser without the personal honor to step down on his own. Someone like that, who wants power that badly... Congrats San Fran, you'll get what you voted for and your spineless jellyfish council upheld.
At the very least they should have had a recall of this guy on this upcoming election ballot. Then the citizens could have fired him.
I am willing to bet if he had beaten up his gay lover he would have been fired. When is the next earthquake?
test
u people r sad...
he grabbed her arm and left a bruise and that is considered abuse?? could have happened during sex also.the neighbor should have kept out of it.deport her...that will fix the problem..
He grabbed her arm with such force it bruised her? ummm, and maybe she bruises easily and maybe she got it from something else. Just sayin'....there's domestic abuse and then there's "claims" of domestic abuse. I'm easily bruised..does that mean my wife kicks me around? No. But I wouldn't doubt she could grab my arm and if I jerked away it would leave a bruise. So things are not always as they appear. Not taking sides...I don't know either one of them, but sounds like another Trayvon case..tried in the media.