Reluctant range boss transferred; Mirkarimi later fails gun test

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi at a July news conference, in uniform but without a gun. San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi at a July news conference, in uniform but without a gun. Photo: Tony Avelar, Associated Press Photo: Tony Avelar, Associated Press Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close Reluctant range boss transferred; Mirkarimi later fails gun test 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

A sergeant under San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi who oversaw the department’s shooting range was transferred after he questioned whether the sheriff could take a marksmanship test in light of his domestic violence case, The Chronicle has learned.

Mirkarimi then took the test and failed it, preventing him from carrying a gun, department employees said.

Sheriff’s Department officials strongly denied Thursday night that the sergeant had been transferred because he potentially stood in the way of Mirkarimi’s being granted permission to carry a gun. They described his transfer as a budgetary move and said Mirkarimi had nothing to do with it.

For much of his term as sheriff, Mirkarimi was on criminal probation after pleading guilty in 2012 to a misdemeanor charge of false imprisonment stemming from an incident in which he bruised his wife’s arm during an argument.

In April, Mirkarimi had the conviction expunged after he completed his probation. Left unresolved was whether he could carry a gun on duty.

State law bars someone convicted of a domestic-violence-related offense from possessing a gun, even if the conviction is expunged. Nonetheless, soon after his case was expunged, Mirkarimi asked the Sheriff’s Department shooting-range master to schedule a marksmanship test, said Capt. Lisette Adams, head of the department association that represents supervisors and managers.

The range master, Sgt. Matt Haskell, asked the internal affairs division to consult with the state Department of Justice on whether Mirkarimi could take the test, Adams said. Haskell, however, “could never get a direct answer from internal affairs about whether the sheriff is qualified,” Adams said.

Mirkarimi, for his part, did not believe the state had to get involved. “There is no authorization required by the Department of Justice,” the Sheriff’s Department’s chief legal counsel, Freya Horne, said in a statement Thursday.

In August, the 18-year veteran sergeant was transferred from the shooting range to a jailhouse post. Adams said Haskell was told that the shift was due to a shortage of supervisors in the jail. Haskell declined to comment for this story.

“It is interesting that Haskell was attempting to determine the sheriff’s legal authority to carry a weapon shortly before he was transferred,” said Adams, whose group has endorsed Mirkarimi’s opponent in the Nov. 3 sheriff’s election, former Chief Deputy Sheriff Vicki Hennessy. “It could be for a shortage of supervisors, but other supervisors were not moved from noncritical positions.”

However, Horne said, “Three other supervisors were transferred in the same time period for department needs. The transfer decision was not made by Sheriff Mirkarimi, and he did not provide input into who was being transferred. The transfers had no relationship to any issue involving the range or any internal affairs inquiry.”

Horne said the transfers “were made to meet budgetary and department needs.”

On Sept. 18, Mirkarimi went to the shooting range at San Francisco International Airport, took the marksmanship test and fell short of the 80 percent score needed to qualify to carry a gun, Adams said.

Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Kenya Briggs said in a statement, “The sheriff, like every other deputy, is entitled to practice at a firing range.”

Adams, however, said Mirkarimi wasn’t practicing. Sept. 18 was reserved for qualification tests, she said.

“He was not practicing — it was an official shoot,” Adams said.

Under Sheriff’s Department rules, no sworn officer can appear in public or be in public buildings in uniform without a firearm. Mirkarimi, however, has repeatedly appeared in public in his uniform without a gun since failing the marksmanship test.

“In public and on duty, you are to have your firearm on you,” Adams said.

Horne, however, disputed that the rule applies to Mirkarimi. “There is no state, local or department law or policy that requires the elected sheriff to carry a firearm whether in uniform or not,” she said.

Jaxon Van Derbeken is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jvanderbeken@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jvanderbeken