SF Mayor: Sheriff Mirkarimi must decide whether to step down during trial

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said Tuesday morning that he plans to speak with Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi about whether he was fit to continue serving in his post amidst allegations of domestic abuse.

Lee said he expected to have a discussion with Mirkarimi by "the end of the day today" about whether Mirkarimi can fulfill his duties while navigating court appearances leading up to a trial.

Mirkarimi was expected to go on trial on Feb. 24 on three misdemeanor charges -- one charge each of domestic violent battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness.

Mirkarimi was scheduled to appear in court Thursday, when his attorney Bob Waggener will argue for the removal of a stay-away order that is preventing him from contacting his wife, Eliana Lopez, and the couple's 2-year-old son, Theo.

Lee would not say whether he would ask Mirkarimi to step down.

"It's incumbent upon the sheriff to make a decision," he said, noting that Mirkarimi must consider the effects the trial could have on the public and his staff.

Lee said Mirkarimi was already under a tremendous amount of pressure and that he does not want to contribute to it.

"I'm not a political person. I don't put pressure on anybody," Lee said.

When questioned by reporters about whether he considers the allegations a national embarrassment -- which is how he referred to the recent blackout at Candlestick Park -- Lee said simply that the trial was "a very serious matter."