Ross Mirkarimi, San Francisco sheriff, charged with domestic battery

Less than a week after being sworn in as San Francisco's first new sheriff in more than 30 years, Ross Mirkarimi has been charged with domestic battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness, the Associated Press reported.

According to the AP:

The investigation centers on a New Year's Eve incident in which Mirkarimi, 50, allegedly grabbed his wife, former Venezuelan telenovela star Eliana Lopez, bruising her upper right arm at their San Francisco home.

A neighbor called the police after Lopez told her about a fight she’d had with her husband on New Year's Eve fight with Mirkarimi, the San Francisco Gate reported. The police obtained video of the bruise on Lopez's arm and text messages about the incident from the neighbor.

"No one is above the law," District Attorney George Gascon told reporters today, according to the AP. "Whether this was the elected sheriff or any other San Francisco resident, this type of behavior is inexcusable, criminal and will be prosecuted."

Gascon also said that Mirkarimi would be barred from his home, forbidden to contact his wife or their toddler son and required to give up his firearms within 24 hours, following a judge’s order, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In a press briefing he held with his wife at his City Hall office today, Mirkarimi called the charges “unfounded,” and said he would stay in office while he fights them, the Los Angeles Times reported. He added he was "confident that in the end we will succeed in showing the missteps" of the investigation, according to the LA Times.

Lopez told reporters that her neighbor had misunderstood the situation.

"As I've said before, I don't have any complaint against my husband," Lopez said, according to the LA Times. "We are together and we are fine. We are going to fight this. This is my family, my husband and my son.… This is completely wrong."

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