Victims' advocates decry Mirkarimi outcome MIRKARIMI CASE Trust is 'shaken to the core,' consultant says

Suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi and his attorney David Waggoner arrive at an Ethics Commission meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, in San Francisco. Suspended Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi and his attorney David Waggoner arrive at an Ethics Commission meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012, in San Francisco. Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Noah Berger, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 10 Caption Close Victims' advocates decry Mirkarimi outcome 1 / 10 Back to Gallery

San Francisco has worked hard to earn a reputation as a national leader for how it handles domestic violence, implementing changes over the past decade that have helped drive down the number of homicides in such cases from about a dozen a year to one or two.

But now San Francisco is a national embarrassment, say advocates for victims of domestic violence, for reinstating Ross Mirkarimi as sheriff after he admitted bruising his wife's arm and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of false imprisonment because of it.

"It certainly feels like a time warp," said Andrea Shorter, a political consultant who chairs the city's Justice and Courage Oversight Panel, which aims to improve the way the city handles domestic violence cases. "You have to scratch your head and say, 'Wait a minute. How could this be happening in 2012 in San Francisco?' "

Mirkarimi is on three years' probation and enrolled in a domestic violence program, while also overseeing those same batterers' programs and maintaining the jails in which domestic violence suspects are held. He has said he once had a strong relationship with advocates for victims of domestic violence and hopes to re-establish those ties.

"The most important thing is that every family, every individual, every San Franciscan feels that they can trust and have the utmost confidence in our chief law enforcement official when it comes to any issue of family violence," Shorter said. "That confidence is shaken - it's been shaken to the core."

Supervisors John Avalos, David Campos, Jane Kim and Christina Olague voted Tuesday to reject Mayor Ed Lee's call for Mirkarimi to be ousted from his job for official misconduct. They all agreed his actions against his wife during a New Year's Eve argument were egregious, but didn't consider it official misconduct.

No 'golden right' to abuse

Orchid Pusey, associate director of the Asian Women's Shelter, said that if Mirkarimi had instead grabbed a co-worker's arm and bruised it, he would have lost his job.

"All along, domestic violence work has been focused on sending the message that you're not allowed in our society to do at home what you're not allowed to do out on the street - that marriage or living together does not come with a golden right to be abusive or violent," Pusey said. "It's just so baffling to me that we could still be in that place."

Supervisors who cast votes supporting Mirkarimi's reinstatement were adamant that domestic violence and official misconduct were two separate issues. Kim said the criminal justice system had addressed the serious charges against Mirkarimi and that her own "faith in him as a person and sheriff has greatly diminished."

But she said she wasn't convinced the behavior rose to the level of official misconduct because he didn't use "the powers of his office to commit wrongdoing."

Olague agreed.

"I feel distressed by the fact that so many people in the domestic violence community feel this was some kind of affront or dismissing their issues," she said. "At the end of the day, I don't think that was anyone's intention."

Avalos said as difficult as it may sound, "I do believe it's possible for the sheriff to run the department and still be on probation." He also reached out Wednesday to both the mayor and victims' advocates to discuss working together.

Implementing changes

Reforming the way the city handles domestic violence cases has been a major undertaking of advocates and city officials since the October 2000 slaying of Claire Joyce Tempongko by her ex-boyfriend in front of her two young children.

Tempongko had called 911 several times over the previous 18 months to report the violent behavior of Tari Ramirez and had cooperated with police and obtained protective orders.

But the law enforcement agencies across the city had failed her miserably. They hadn't communicated with each other about the case, and the probation department had left Ramirez unsupervised for four months after his probation officer retired.

The killing led to the creation of the Justice and Courage Oversight Panel and a host of changes in city policy. The city contracted with a company that provides telephone interpretation in multiple languages to 911 dispatchers and trained 435 law enforcement members in the handling of domestic violence cases. It created new police codes for domestic violence and stalking crimes, rather than listing them generically under disturbing the peace.

Domestic violence, however, has far from disappeared. According to a 2010 report by the city's Department on the Status of Women, there were 26,000 calls that year to domestic violence hot lines and 7,000 domestic violence calls to 911.

Defining the violence

Those who work with victims of domestic violence said they fear the Mirkarimi case has sent confusing messages to victims. Mirkarimi initially called it a "private, family matter," whereas the criminal justice system views it as a crime against the state, not just the victim.

Many who spoke during the public comment portion at Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting said a grab or a bruise isn't domestic violence. Under California law, cases can be prosecuted for a grab, a pull or even intentionally spitting on the victim.

Others said the case shouldn't have gone anywhere because Mirkarimi's wife recanted what she'd said in a video in which she showed her bruise and said such an incident had happened before. The district attorney's office has a policy of not dropping a case because a victim asks it to, which happens in the majority of cases.

Several Mirkarimi supporters booed victims' advocates who spoke up during public comment. One Mirkarimi supporter purposefully bumped her cane into Shorter's arm and said sarcastically, "Oh, did I bruise you?" Others seemed to turn it into a progressive political issue.

"I am actually embarrassed on behalf of San Francisco," Pusey said. "I'm embarrassed in front of my peers on a national level, and I'm embarrassed as a San Francisco person. We have so much work to do now."

Kathy Black, director of La Casa de las Madres, a shelter for domestic violence victims, works closely with the sheriff's office. They train each other's staffs, run anti-domestic-violence programs together and refer clients to each other. She said she will continue to be "professional in the execution" of her job but that she's still waiting for Mirkarimi to take responsibility for his actions.

"Right now, I've seen a lot of high fives," she said. "That doesn't feel too humble or like he's taking it too seriously to me."

Mayor Lee called advocates who work with domestic violence victims the day after the supervisors' vote to determine the next best steps. He agreed with advocates that the vote had set the movement back.

"We're going to have to work doubly hard in this city to re-establish the level of truth and faith with women here, with families, and with children, to make sure that our domestic violence programs are still leading the country as models and that we continue to hold abusers accountable," he said.

Trying to mend fences

District Attorney George Gascón called on Mirkarimi to recuse himself from any domestic violence-related duties.

Mirkarimi said at a press conference on Wednesday that he would "absolutely" try to mend fences with victims' advocates.

"We were once allies, strong allies, before the last 10 months," he said. "I hope we can be allies again."

San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Neal J. Riley and Vivian Ho contributed to this report.