S.F. deputies union ties pier killing to sheriff’s order

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi speaks during a press conference at San Francisco City Hall on Friday, July 10, 2015 in San Francisco, Calif. Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi speaks during a press conference at San Francisco City Hall on Friday, July 10, 2015 in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 68 Caption Close S.F. deputies union ties pier killing to sheriff’s order 1 / 68 Back to Gallery

The union representing San Francisco sheriff’s deputies filed a formal complaint against Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, linking the Pier 14 killing of Kathryn Steinle to a March order that barred them from communicating with federal immigration agents, according to documents obtained by The Chronicle.

The murder arrest of a man whom deputies had freed from jail despite a felony record and a history of deportations showed that Mirkarimi’s policy “recklessly compromises the safety of sworn personnel, citizens, and those who merely come to visit the San Francisco area,” the deputies wrote in the grievance.

The San Francisco Deputy Sheriffs’ Association called for Mirkarimi to correct his “flawed philosophy” and rescind the March 13 memo prohibiting his staff from giving immigration agents information about detainees — including their citizenship status, their booking and arrest documents, and their release dates.

Sanctuary-city debate

The grievance, filed by union attorneys and sent to the sheriff Monday, adds a new layer to a national debate about sanctuary-city laws that limit cooperation between local agencies and immigration authorities.

Mirkarimi has said his policy reflected the spirit of a 2013 city ordinance intended to protect immigrants — and that city leaders should get together and change the ordinance if they see fit.

The grievance also underscored deep divisions within the Sheriff’s Department. The union has long been at odds with Mirkarimi and has endorsed his opponent, Vicki Hennessy, in this fall’s election. Freya Horne, a department attorney, called the grievance “political posturing.”

Peter Hoffmann, an attorney for the union, countered that it was a matter of public safety. “Clearly, this was a bad policy,” he said. “Rescind it, and let’s try to do something positive going forward.”

The Sheriff’s Department came under fire when San Francisco authorities arrested and charged Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican national, in Steinle’s July 1 slaying along the Embarcadero.

Lopez-Sanchez had been convicted of several drug offenses since 2001, and federal immigration authorities wanted to deport him a sixth time. He came to San Francisco, though, after the Sheriff’s Department requested that he be transported from a federal prison in San Bernardino County to face a 20-year-old drug charge for marijuana sale.

Mirkarimi released him in April after the district attorney declined to prosecute.

San Francisco’s “Due Process for All” ordinance, passed in 2013 and signed by Mayor Ed Lee, holds that only individuals who have been convicted of a violent felony in the past seven years, and who are facing another violent felony charge, can be held for deportation after their release from jail.

Lee: ‘Pick up the phone’

Lee has said the Sheriff’s Department could have, under the ordinance, simply notified immigration agents before Lopez-Sanchez’s release. He railed against Mirkarimi’s reading of the law, stating that “nothing in this sanctuary-city law prohibits the officials of the city and county of San Francisco to communicate, to engage in discussion.”

“Do we need to educate somebody on how to pick up the phone?” he said.

Mirkarimi’s March memo went further than the ordinance, mandating “limited contact and communication” with immigration agents. He said that the policy was a direct reflection of the ordinance and that Lee was “throwing his own law under the bus.”

Before the policy change, some deputies had informally called immigration agents about inmates who might be deportable before their release from County Jail. Mirkarimi said such freelancing by deputies could bring a dangerous subjectivity into play.

Mirkarimi responded to Lee on Thursday, saying that a letter the mayor sent to him on Tuesday “does not provide legal clarity regarding my department’s duty under city law.”

“The only reason to now notify federal immigration officials of an individual’s release would be to facilitate the release of the individual to the federal immigration officials,” he said. He recommended having “an immediate open discussion” about the city’s policy in front of the Board of Supervisors.

Mirkarimi did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the grievance, nor did Eugene Cerbone, the union president.

In the grievance, attorney Hoffmann said the sheriff improperly implemented the policy change without first meeting with the union.

While a grievance can in some cases end with a decision by an arbitrator, Horne, the department attorney, said the union’s grievance is not legitimate.

‘Political posturing’

“Generally, grievances are something that could result in a change in working conditions, and this is not, and therefore it is not subject to a meet and confer,” she said. “It’s political posturing in an election year. It’s the kind of thing that’s been done by the DSA in the past, to oppose (former sheriff) Michael Hennessey.”

But Hoffmann said the deputies were upset about “a pretty significant working condition issue. ... It’s an order not to cooperate with fellow law enforcement. In this case, it is on a federal level, but you can imagine the chaos that would occur if the order was to no longer cooperate with the San Francisco Police Department.”

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo