It has been a year to forget for San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi and things are getting uglier and uglier by the minute as he has now been suspended on official misconduct charges by Mayor Ed Lee.

Lee met with Mirkarimi on Monday and asked that he resign. But Mirkarimi remained defiant and said “I do not believe that the conduct that I have taken responsibility for constitutes official misconduct within the meaning of the law.” On Tuesday, he said he will continue to fight for his job and “looks forward to (bringing) his case (before) the Ethics Commission and Board of Supervisors.”

Lee said that after Mirkarimi chose not to resign, “I had to act” and that elected officials have to “be held to the highest legal and ethical standards.” He has appointed Vicki Hennessy to serve as interim sheriff while the ethics process plays out. Hennessy has previously served as chief deputy in the sheriff’s department and as the executive director of the city’s Department of Emergency Management.

In terms of dealing with the official misconduct charges, the city’s Ethics Commission will consider the charges and make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors. The board will need the approval of 9 of the 11 supervisors to oust Mirkarimi from office.

This all stems from a December 31 incident in which Mirkarimi allegedly grabbed and bruised his wife’s arm. He agreed to a plea deal last week to a misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment and was sentenced to three years’ probation on Monday.

Photo Credit: www.gp.org

• Tag: Domestic Abuse, Guilty Plea, Interim Sheriff, Mayor Ed Lee, Official Misconduct Charge, Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, Suspension, Vicki Hennessy