SF Chronicle Desperation to Remove Sheriff in Full Force

The Chronicle posted multiple biased editorials to push their corporate-driven agenda to remove Mirkarimi, distorting the facts and appealing to authority with no opinion supporting him, in the days leading up to the final hearing. They published images to attempt to make the anti-Mirkarimi side look larger than it was (almost all were from a single organization), and minimized the much larger rally by his supporters by showing only a close-up -- http://blog.sfgate.com/cityinsider/2012/08/16/closing-arguments-begin-in-ross-mirkarimi-official-misconduct-hearing/

The commission decided to have the public comment at the same time as the rallies so many Mirkarimi supporters who wanted to speak had to wait in line and not be at the rally. Despite that, as you can see from the non-corporate media video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRSbc4h62Ao&feature=plcp), the sparse group of anti-Mirkarimi people were given the city hall steps, while the larger, diverse and loudly chanting group of his supporters was forced to stand across the street. Later the anti-Mirkarimi crowd went inside and then for hours the supporters rallied out front. The main media covering the rallies were Spanish speaking.

Being there with so many people, and then seeing the biased treatment was a disgusting experience. Among many other groups, the National Lawyers Guild SF Bay Area Chapter has come out supporting Ross:

"As an organization of Bay Area attorneys, legal workers, law students, and community members, the National Lawyers Guild San Francisco Bay Area Chapter urges the City of San Francisco to stop using public resources to oust Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi from office. We are deeply concerned that his suspension without pay by Mayor Ed Lee is an affront to the democratic will of the people of San Francisco, and that the current efforts to remove him from office both lack sufficient due process protections and are politically motivated. . . .Because Mirkarimi has a record as a political progressive who has championed policies that many in law enforcement vigorously oppose, we believe this process is largely motivated by politics and not concern for victims of domestic abuse. Mirkarimi has been a strong supporter of San Francisco’s Sanctuary city policies that protect immigrants, has consistently opposed racial profiling by police, and supports efforts to decrease the jail population as part of the budget and jail re-alignment processes. In contrast, Mayor Lee has recently called for NYC police style stop-and-frisk programs in San Francisco. If District Attorney Gascon and Mayor Lee succeed in removing Mirkarimi from office, we are concerned that law enforcement policies in San Francisco will become more oppressive, and the jail population will increase."
http://www.nlgsf.org/news/statement-suspension-sf-sheriff-ross-mirkarimi-and-ethics-commission-proceedings

Ross spoke at the end, after the decision came down --
http://www.ktvu.com/videos/news/sf-sheriff-ross-mirkarimi-responds-to-ethics/vdRZD/