In a rare interview since his legal troubles began, Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi tells The Bay Citizen’s Matt Smith that Mayor Ed Lee never gave him a chance to explain himself before suspending him: “He was clear that he was not interested in events or details, which were represented by me, even when I encouraged him. It was more than one occasion I offered to tell him my side of the story. If I had, it could have dramatically changed the mayor’s understanding of the situation.”
Add: Lee suspended Mirkarimi after the sheriff agreed to plead guilty to false imprisonment of his wife, Eliana Lopez, in exchange for a domestic violence charge against him being dropped. Here’s an excerpt related to the plea:
“The false imprisonment had to do with this: I turned the car around from going to lunch, and she didn’t want to do that,” he said. “That was the false imprisonment, turning the car around.”
Also: By phone from Venezuela, where she and the couple’s son, Theo, are visiting relatives, Eliana Lopez tells Smith: “They don’t want Ross to become too powerful, and they’re doing whatever they can to inflict more pain. This is completely wrong. I love Ross. And we have to keep on fighting.”
Image: MSNBC
