New S.F. Sheriff faces domestic violence charges
SAN FRANCISO, CA (BDCI) – On Saturday, January 7th, San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi quietly took the oath of office despite the fact a criminal investigation was launched against him just a few days before.
Mirkarimi had been charged with one count each of domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness. Just the day before Mirkarimi took office as San Francisco’s Sheriff, he turned himself into the Hall of Justice, where he was booked, photographed and fingerprinted.
District Attorney George Gascon confirmed that according to court documents, Mirkarimi’s wife Lopez suffered a bruised arm when her husband grabbed her on New Year’s Eve. A video taken by a neighbor, Ivory Madison, as well as text messages are currently in the hand of investigators.
I think if we deal with this like we would with any other case that is similarly situated, politics will step to the side,” said Gascon. “Obviously we have a law enforcement official and that adds another level of complexity, but we want to be sure that we do the right thing.”
Court documents say Mirkarimi yelled, “F— you, F— you!” when Lopez asked if she could visit Venezuela. The affidavit says Mirkarimi accused her of planning to take the couple’s 2-year-old son away from him.
Both Mirkarimi and Lopez have called the alleged incident a “private matter, a family matter.”
If convicted of all three charges, Mirkarimi could face up to one year in jail. He could also be forced to give up his department-issued firearm.
In yesterday’s hearing, an affidavit included with the arrest warrant states that Mirkarimi’s wife gave a neighbor what one detective describes as a “free flowing” narrative of what she says was an assault on New Year’s Eve. These details came out on the same day Mirkarimi was planning to talk to his staff about the situation.
“I look forward to reporting to work and doing what I’ve been elected to do, and I look forward to having my day in court,” said Mirkarimi. By: Jandra Bell Source: ABC Local Image: Yahoo 18 January 2012
2:56p.m. P.S.T.