San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi’s driver license has been suspended for failing to report a traffic accident that he was involved in last October.
Mirkarimi has been at the center of a debate over sanctuary city policies after a five-time deported, seven-time convicted felon illegal alien allegedly shot and killed 32-year-old Kate Steinle at San Francisco’s Pier 14 last month.
The Sheriff’s department had requested and taken custody of Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez prior to the shooting, and purposefully did not notify immigration authorities from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) upon his release from jail.
Sheriff Mirkarimi learned of the DMV suspension Monday through press inquiries, according to the Sheriff’s Department. An October 2, 2014 non-injury accident that damaged another motorist’s vehicle is the source of the suspension, a statement read. It was unclear which driver was at fault.
Mirkarimi says he immediately informed his insurance company. He asserts that the provider assured that they would “take care of the matter” and that his coverage has not been interrupted.
The Sheriff’s Department did note that a San Francisco Police Officer issued Mirkarimi a traffic citation for the violation in June. He says he was not notified of the suspension at the time. The statement notes that the citation has been resolved. The Sheriff is allowed to drive for employment activities.
Mirkarimi has defended his department’s release of Lopez-Sanchez despite massive public outcry. He told CNN’s Jake Tapper that sanctuary city policies “make us safer.”
Lopez-Sanchez has said that he chose San Francisco knowing that sanctuary city policies insulated him from deportation.
Mirkarimi has also used the incident to bash 2016 Presidential candidate Donald Trump, calling the real estate mogul an “opportunist” trying to “capitalize on the misfortune of others.”
The license suspension is not the only point of drama surrounding Mirkarimi. At the time of Lopez-Sanchez’s release he was having his own criminal record expunged. A charge of domestic violence for actions against his wife was later downgraded to false imprisonment. He pled guilty in 2012 and was sentenced to one day in jail, anger management classes and three months of probation. He had since sought to have the records expunged completely and succeeded in doing so on April 20, just five days after Lopez-Sanchez’s release.
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