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Uploaded: Wednesday, October 10, 2012, 6:00 AM
Sheriff Mirkarimi keeps his job, gets back pay after 9-month suspension by San Francisco mayor
Pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charge after grabbing wife's arm during argument
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Ross Mirkarimi will be reinstated as San Francisco's sheriff after the city's Board of Supervisors fell two votes short of upholding official misconduct charges against him Tuesday night.
The 11-member board needed nine votes to approve the permanent removal of Mirkarimi from office, but David Campos, John Avalos, Jane Kim and Christina Olague declined to uphold the charges.
The 7-4 vote comes after several months of legal wrangling that began when Mirkarimi was suspended without pay by Mayor Ed Lee in March following his guilty plea to misdemeanor false imprisonment in connection with a Dec. 31 incident in which he grabbed his wife's arm during an argument, causing a bruise.
"It's been a long and crazy road, not just for our family but the family of San Francisco," Mirkarimi said after the hearing.
The mayor issued a statement late Tuesday night expressing disappointment with the board's vote.
"I strongly disagree with the action taken by Supervisors Avalos, Campos, Kim and Olague," Lee said.
Olague had been appointed by the mayor to replace Mirkarimi after he was elected sheriff last November and took office in January.
"The board's decision returns a convicted domestic batterer to lead the sheriff's office, and I am concerned about our city's nationally-recognized domestic violence programs," Lee said. "I will do
everything in my power to ensure that abusers continue to be held accountable."
Mirkarimi said that while he thought the mayor "went too far" in suspending him, he said "on behalf of the people, the right thing to do is to
mend fences."
Mirkarimi said he will talk to top sheriff's officials in the morning about transitioning back as the head of the department. His attorneys also noted he will receive back pay for the entire period he was suspended.
Vicki Hennessy had been appointed by the mayor as interim sheriff after Mirkarimi's suspension.
The San Francisco Sheriff's Managers & Supervisors Association issued a statement Tuesday night saying they respect the supervisors' decision and that it is time for the department "to move beyond this difficult period and refocus on our longstanding record of innovative service to the community."
Hundreds of people came to City Hall for the hours-long hearing, forcing authorities to open multiple overflow rooms to accommodate the crowds.
A majority of the speakers who talked to the board during the public comment portion of the proceedings supported Mirkarimi, while others
spoke against the sheriff, including domestic violence victim advocates who had also held a rally outside City Hall on Monday urging the supervisors to remove him from office.
Deputy City Attorney Sherri Kaiser, representing the mayor, told the supervisors that the fact that the sheriff oversees domestic violence programs and works with the city's probation department conflicts with his being sentenced to a year of domestic violence counseling and three years'
probation as part of his plea deal.
Under questioning from some of the supervisors, Kaiser acknowledged that suspending the sheriff was "a discretionary decision" and "at bottom a judgment call," but that law enforcement officers "are expected to enforce the law, not to break it."
A majority of the supervisors agreed, including Sean Elsbernd who said Mirkarimi "violated that trust" given to top law enforcement officials.
But the dissenting supervisors ultimately took issue with the discretionary nature of the mayor's decision, including Avalos who said he thought the case was "convoluted from a legal point of view."
The case had been sent to the board by the city's Ethics Commission, which was tasked with holding fact-finding hearings and making a recommendation in the case.
In August, the panel voted 4-1 in favor of upholding the charges, and commission chair Benedict Hur gave a presentation to the board at the start of Tuesday's hearing outlining what led to their vote.
Hur said the commission made its ruling on the basis of the physical abuse, which it found to fall below the standards of decency expected of an elected official as laid out in the official misconduct clause in the city charter.
Hur was the lone commissioner to vote against the majority, saying today that "there must be a line between official misconduct and personal misconduct" and that he thought there was not a close enough nexus between the case and Mirkarimi's duties as sheriff.— Bay City News Service Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by Member, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 10, 2012 at 8:51 pm Lee was simply using this to get another one of his backroom deals done and get some one he 'owes' a favor to another top official position.
Why does San Franciscans put up with his ploys?
if only Lee paid this much attn on the other MAJOR issues concerning the city.
I dont condone the acts of Mikarimi, but this went way to far into their personal life. The nosey neighbor needs a life a well...just saying.
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Posted by liberalism is a disease, a resident of the Birdland neighborhood, on Oct 11, 2012 at 8:38 am
liberalism is a disease is a member (registered user) of PleasantonWeekly.com Political witch hunt and nothing more. Think about how much this episode cost the city of S.F. and what they could have done with that cash.
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Posted by Politcal Hacks, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 11, 2012 at 10:04 am Mayor Ed Lee seems to have taken the governing methods of former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown to heart - patronage builds the empire and enemies are rubbed out. It is widely thought that Mayor Lee is a puppet, and that Willie Brown is the real power "behind the throne".
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Posted by Staycee, a resident of the Downtown neighborhood, on Oct 11, 2012 at 2:03 pm guess it's okay for a a male (not a man) to beat up a female and get by with it.
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Posted by b, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 11, 2012 at 3:38 pm Reminds me of the witch hunt against Bill Clinton. Except he wasnt a wife beater. Far more taxpayer money wasted there.
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Posted by mittens, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 11, 2012 at 10:25 pm Staycee---only in the Middle East. That's why N.O.W. is so vocal about protecting women in Muslim countries (lol).
b-getting a hummer in the Oral office is about as professional as Uncle Joe Biden's performance in the debates. If you're really worried about taxpayer dollars, as you say you are, then stop the funding of organizations like Solyndra.
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Posted by Angus, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 12, 2012 at 5:05 am The Sheriff was correctly arrested for domestic violence. He admitted to the act, and offered a guilty plea. As the chief law enforcement officer for the County of San Francisco, he should have not only been removed, he should have been apropriately sentenced to serve a penalty, as is the case with others that have been removed from service for similar criminal activity. Mr. Mirkarimi will quickly move to punsih, and remove Deputies that cross this line. A wee bit of a hypocrite in my humble estimation. Like many of our elected officials, the rules just don't apply to their bad behaviour. Mr Mirkarimi gets to stand in front of his glass house and throw stones with impunity. While Mayor Lee is indeed a political manipulator, this time he was spot on. It is interesting to note that one of those voting to re-instate has come forward suggesting going forward with a recall vote. Curious, and curiouser.
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Posted by b, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 12, 2012 at 8:39 am Nevermind the important matters of the day. It was necessary that we pause the nation's business for a few years while we impeached the President of the United States for not being "classy" enough.
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Posted by mittens, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 12, 2012 at 10:23 am b, life went on in the clinton admnistration, despite the diversions he created for himself. Had he been able to focus on his job (or should I say his political career) and the needs of the country first, he would not have put himself in the compromising position that you obviously condone. All he had to do was keep his pants up while he was on the job, but he put his 'needs' ahead of those of his countrymen.
No one takes impeachment lightly, just as no one should take the duties and responsibilities of the office lightly (i.e.-smiling and laughing about security breaches in our embassy's). Clinton's terms in office were a black stain on our country and caused us to lose respect throughout the world, which continues with the current occupier of the W.H. At least O has been able to keep his big boy pants on thusfar......
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Posted by b, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 12, 2012 at 7:27 pm So you're appalled that the President of the United States has sex? Pardon me for being so slow here. I'm just struggling to comprehend this national emergency or the many millions of taxpayer dollars wasted on it.
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Posted by Mittens, a resident of the Another Pleasanton neighborhood neighborhood, on Oct 12, 2012 at 7:52 pm B, maybe for you, sex with another partner while you're still married is OK (after all, anything goes in this state), but for those of us that take our marriage vows seriously, his actions show him to be the scum he is. And you apparently approve....two peas in a pod.
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Posted by Cholo, a resident of Livermore, on Oct 16, 2012 at 7:23 pm I've often wondered if Bill beat-up Hillary?
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