Corrupt San Francisco - Cop "transferred" after questioning Sheriff

(San Francisco Chronicle)  -  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.

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.

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.

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