percent. it used to be 12-15 women per year die from domestic violence- related injuries. now one or two. each one is a tragedy. the facts are clear in this case. ross mirkarimi pled guilty and was convicted of a crime of domestic violence against his partner. he is on three years' probation. but a probation or on domestic violence probation cannot be the supervisors of one of the world's best violence intervention programs, which is what rsvp in the jails currently is. we would like to see san francisco continue in the direction it has been going. we think we are headed in the right direction we urge you to remove the sheriff. he has lost the confidence of the city of san francisco and is no longer fit to serve. it is an honor. when we have someone you

tarnishes the badge and the efforts of those people trying to do good work, it really affects us all. the world really is watching. thank you. >> hello. my name is sydney hodgkin's in. i have been a victim in this city, and i've been at a few of these hearings. with ethics selling question, such as been the ethics of ross mirkarimi, i do not see how we can be an adequate representative of our city. it is hard for me to speak to you all, but coming from the perspective that i do, as people mentioned before, when it is something such as coming forward about what has transpired, there should be no question at the head of our

police department what the ethics of that person are. thank you for evaluating this case closely, and please consider that. >> good afternoon. my name is orchid. i'm here with some of my co- workers from the women's shelter behind me. i want to thank you for your work. i also want to say that i want to offer you the opportunity with arms open, and in part, pleading with you to restore my faith and trust in the city of san francisco. i want to let you know that i will and we will lose our pride in the city if the person who is the key figure for public

safety, andk ensuring that the system of responsibility, safety, and of rehabilitation are led by someone who plead guilty in our court in san francisco, and in the same day to the media, that it was about money. that breaks my trust. it also shows a lack of plain old skill and initiative in being a public leader, and the modeling of taking over responsibility. because nothing that is harmful can change without the bravery to stand up and take responsibility. i have been looking for that and have not seen it. and also, you lose my trust when someone purports and others refused that this is about 1 sigel bruise or a one single argument during holidays, which we all know is stressful. [tone] i want to say that through my

work, and the work of those behind me, which covers 50 years of everyday working with survivors of violence, survivors are already terrified. they are terrified to come forward and to cooperate and seek support from the city, from the people that are supposed to make them feel safe. do we want to make them more terrified, or less? [tone] >> thank you, ma'am. but i like to use the overhead. my name is paul led brown. -- palpaulette brown. i lost my son to homicide. yesterday was the anniversary of his death, august 14th.

and still no justice. i'm here to say that i am talking for all of the mothers out there. i know i do not have a lot of time. why are we wasting money with their hot unsolved homicide cases out there? our families are hurting. we need justice. we waste money and time trying to convict the share of something. there are people out there committing crimes and killing people and they're not been convicted of anything. our children are still dying. you have loved ones whose parents are grieving. what do we do about these unsolved homicide cases? what do we do about it. -- about it? there is my child. i will never again see a graduation in my life. there is me standing over my son. and here is me lay on a gurney, dead.

the sheriff was there when our children were murdered. give him credit. we forgive our perpetrators that have murdered our children. what about the forgiveness of our children? [tone] why are you doing this? let him do his job in solving these cases for our children. how many times will we cry out there? when we have someone who will help us, but you were taking him away from us. i'm here because our children were out there and ross was there when our children were bleeding and their blood and guts and brains are laying in the street. look at my son. [tone] look at him. >> thank you, ma'am. [applause] >> good afternoon. i am here to ask you to please

put our share to work. -- our sheriff to work. this is the first time that i have heard that someone could lose his job because he grabbed his wife by the arm. you should know exactly what domestic violence is. it is nothing like this. thank you. >> i have been a domestic violence advocates for more than six years. i am concerned about what this process has communicated to immigrant victims of domestic violence. every day, we are working hard to make sure that immigrants,

who are here from all over the world, are clear about their rights and understand that in the u.s., they have the right to be free from violence, abuse, and control from their partners. supposedly, there -- the law protects them. if ross mirkarimi is not removed from office after knowingly abusing his wife, domestic violence victims will not come forward for help because they will be afraid that will help them or that they will be deported because of their immigrant status. do the right thing. >> hello. and i am a family advocate for domestic violence. if ross mirkarimi is reinstated as san francisco share of, it

will send the wrong message to victims of domestic violence. i work with victims of domestic abuse every day. i'm deeply concerned that the city -- that if the city does not hold mr. roope mirkarimi -- mr. mirkarimi responsible for his actions, others will get away with this. please, think about your recommendation to the board of supervisors. victims' lives could be held in the balance. i urge you to support the mayor's decision. >> my name is barbara and i'm part of the domestic violence community. san francisco is known for taking a stand against causes that which we find important. we cannot allow in this city a

person who has clearly abused his power and used his strength against women to work as a representative of government. his conviction clearly creates a conflict of interest. as a city, we cannot allow a person who has pled guilty to domestic violence to represent law enforcement and expect the public to trust him. but what message are we sending to other cities? if he remains sheriff, ross mirkarimi will set a precedent in his department about the seriousness of domestic violence and what type of behavior will be tolerated. i urge the use of -- you to support the mayor's position. thank you. >> i am an advocate for domestic violence victims. in san francisco, the domestic violence community has a history

of working with the police at all elected officials to create a model system to protect victims of domestic violence. san francisco must remain a safe harbor and not allow mirkarimi to undo that hard work and cause us to be a national embarrassment. thank you. >> i have been in the field of domestic violence for seven years and i am a resident of san francisco. i am deeply concerned about the message it will send to survivors and batterers if one of our top said -- a top public safety officials is allowed to remain in office after admitting to a domestic violence crime and were on probation for that crime. as chair of coming he oversees the incarceration and rehabilitation of batterers. how can the survivors in our community feel safe if he is admitted -- has admitted to

hurting its own partner? i urge you to support the mayor's position. >> good afternoon. my name is jennifer. i am a local advocate. i run a shelter and i do training programs around the country the fact is, sheriff mirkarimi committed an act of violence. he said so himself. but context matters, too. the individuals charged with being the lead law enforcement officer for the city of san francisco has put his needs above his family, his son, and this city and its citizens. his behavior is consistent with that of a man who batters. he has minimized, denied, blamed, and john complete disregard for the consequences of his behavior -- shown complete disregard for the consequences of his being here. is this the individual that we want leading our city? is this the individual that we

fill, but it will do the best to protect us? is this an individual to ensure accountability? >> good afternoon. i have lived in san francisco since 1996. i am a lawyer, a former director of the project juvenile life without parole. i voted for ross mirkarimi, and eric -- and mayor ed lee. i mostly voted for mirkarimi because of the sheriff he had proven to be, and the man he has proven to be. we sorely need a share to have his perspective on criminal realignment. as far as this misconduct proceeding, greatly concerned that one man can unilaterally remove an elected official from office and thereby totally

disarm the democratic process. i believe ms. lopez. i believe ross. when we talk about facts, we look at those involved. both have been very clear that there is no such concern of domestic violence, which i fully oppose. however, i believe both of them. i would like the shares that our city has voted into office to be reinstated so we can do his job. thank you very much. [applause] >> good afternoon. my name is carl. i want to talk for a moment about the principles of levity, which has been associated with rules of levity, and they apply to ambiguities in the record. one of the things that we see in this case is a great deal of ambiguity. what i would like to submit to you is that official misconduct

must be divided into two principles and one overarching nexus. if you look at whether mr. mirkarimi was in office at the time, perhaps you that some ambiguity about that. if you look at whether there was misconduct, perhaps there was some ambiguity about that as well. and did you try to find a nexus, i think he will find a glaring ambiguity. principles of levity should apply to these ambiguities in the record. >> thank you. thank you for the comments of the public. i think that -- oh, there are still people. >> i'm sorry, commissioner. there are more people out there.

>> how many more are out there? roughly 30 more? i think we should continue. let's continue. please. >> goodlp afternoon. my name is kathy black. i and the executive director of la casa de los madres. domestic violence is a serious problem. domestic violence -- i am

concerned about the message it will send it to survivors and batterers if one of our city's top public safety officials is allowed to remain in office after admitting to a domestic violence crime. this is bigger than one case. this is about survivor safety and better accountability. it's about sharing our city that san francisco is concerned about the safety of the victims and survivors and takes this seriously, and a matter who is perpetrating it. any sheriff who has pled guilty to false imprisonment and admitted under oath that he committed an act of violence against his wife and at the time that he did, knew it was a crime, he is not fit to be shared. -- scherrer left. thank you. >> i and the associate director

be- run lead advocate for more than 10 years. the arguments that you have heard from mirkarimi's team rolled back nearly 35 years in understanding of protections for victims and perpetrators of domestic violence. there ross mirkarimi admitted to committing an act of violence against his wife. he pled guilty. would you tell those in san francisco and around the country back -- that the share collected does not fall below a standard of decency? there is a conflict interest -- and claims in contrition refuted by an unwillingness to take responsibility. i urge you to let the facts

stand and support the mayor's position. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is sharon johnson. i am the former director on the commission on the status of women from 1989 through 1994. i worked as a legislative aide in city hall in 1979 through 1987. i am here because in 1981, when i was a legislative aide for a then supervisor, we wrote a letter to the commission on the status of women, asking them to please give money to the violence prevention fund, which is now futures without violence, to use specifically for messaging that domestic violence is not a private, nor family matter. it is a matter of public safety and public health. for these many years we have

worked hard to have that not just roll off the tongue of our elected officials of our city and county, to be aware of the fact that domestic violence is a very serious matter. and since then, the number of homicide had decreased. in 1991, when i was the executive director on the commission of the status of women, we did a report. it was the first case study that we did regarding domestic violence where a woman who had gone through all of the traditional procedures of restraining orders for a 12- month time frame, and 15 months after her husband was released he shot and killed her. [tone] through that report we were able to do a lot of changing of county and city policy. i hope he will honor the hard work that men and women have done for the past 40 years on domestic violence. thank you.

>> good afternoon. i am an artist and activist and mother. one of the most profound place of the 20th century is arthur miller's the crucible. he parallels the events of salem in 1600 to the blacklisting and discrimination of those labeled as communist during the 1950's. it shows how mass hysteria can sweep an entire community. this is how i felt about the initial press coverage and the charges against the mayor. seeing something that was not there, demanding vengeance, shocking to watch as they made every effort to destroy family, a career, not unlike some 16th

century witch hunt. i believe this has been a witch hunt and a scary time for our community. if what can happen between them can be front-page news, many citizens should be run out of town. he was being tried in the court and then in the news and then before the ethics commission. people are outraged, but what about the assassination of the abortion doctor in colorado? how many articles are there about the rape of women in chicago? [tone] has anyone brought up the fact that women are second-class citizens? or that 13 congressmen have recently voted against the reissuing of the violence against women act. this is the oldest trick in the book. ecuador today gave julien has

launched asylum. -- julian a staunch asylum. [tone] [no audio] >> good afternoon, members of the commission. my name is arthur. i am an hispanic transgender woman. i am also an elected delegate to the 2012 national convention. i am here today to express my support for sheriff ross mirkarimi. i believe the evidence presented against tampa does not warrant -- against him does not warrant his removal from office. the public elected him overwhelmingly. he is a very popular shared in our communityñilp, and he is the kind of shares that makes me

feel safe. given that there is a lot of trafficking of women in united states and, some say, in san francisco, i would ask that all of his efforts that have been put toward ross be put toward all of these crimes against women, much more serious human crimes. i would ask that we reevaluate the situation and hold hearings on matters of severe concern to the city and county of san francisco. thank you and have a great day. [applause] >> money ms. lindsay. -- my name is lindsay. my son and lies in the san francisco police department and he thinks this is a travesty, because he knows of many instances that are much more

severe that are not prosecuted. this is a very minor domestic violence case. i can only see it as a consolidation of power, political power kind of effort. the last hearing, there was very instructive testimony by a lesbian woman, who was credentialed as much as a domestic violence worker. in her case, she was one of the first people to talk to ms. lopez. you could hear in the background begging them not to call police. this is a case that has been blown out of proportion and has cost the taxpayers a lot of money. it is not about domestic violence. it is destroying a family, and a child, too. i hope you consider that in your vote. thank you for your time. [applause]

>> good afternoon. my name is jeff myers. i have not prepared any remarks. i hope you will be refreshed to know that. i do not want to repeat any of the accusations, critiques of procedure, or interests that have been represented. i merely want to be here to testify as to the absolute probity of ross under every single circumstance that i have seen him engaged. he has always been the perfect advocate for women's rights, for the sensitivity to all minority and disadvantaged people. and i have seen that borne out

in a long time as i have spent alone with him in the field. i have seen the note do things that did not please ross. it -- theo do things that did not please ross. and i've seen how perfectly calmly calmlytheo -- perfectly calmly theo accepts the judicious discipline of its parent. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is kathrin. i have no rocket -- ross mirkarimi for years and -- i have nallen ross mirkarimi ifor years -- i have known ross

mirkarimi for years and i think he will make a very good cheer. this has been a witch hunt. i hope we will put this much energy into other matters that have been referred to this commission, as the civic league sunshine complaint 11-049, the parks and rex department, notice of willful for guerrier -- willful failure and its conductor this was referred to you by the 2011 sunshine task force and has yet to be aired by this commission. i respectfully ask you why that is. i ask you to show everyone you are not today following a political agenda. please, follow up on the complaint i mentioned, 11-049. this will show that you're

trying to follow your heart. and please reinstate ross mirkarimi. thank you. >> good afternoon, commissioners. my name is michael o'connor. i am a small business person. i just finished two terms on the small business commission and i'm a resident of district 5. i witnessed the above and beyond call of duty that -- approach that then supervisor mirkarimi took to our district. we saw him shoring up nightly in the middle of the night -- shelling out nightly in the middle of the night to homicide scenes because he wanted to put these incredible passion into our district up to the front. he worked as hard as anyone in this building. as a former commissioner, i would ask that