On Monday, San Francisco was aflutter as the city's sheriff Ross Mirkarimi pleaded guilty to misdemeanor false imprisonment -- a plea bargain that allowed the sheriff to avoid a brutal (and very public) domestic violence trial.
Mirkarimi was initially charged with misdemeanor domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness, following a New Year's Eve incident with his wife. Those charges were dropped in exchange for a guilty plea to false imprisonment –- a move that some have called necessary.
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But within hours, the plea turned the voices of the city against each other.
Mayor Ed Lee released a statement calling the incident "serious and troubling for our City." He wrote, "The Sheriff, one of our top law enforcement officials, has now pleaded guilty to an unexpected and very serious charge that has introduced a new set of legal issues that must be thoroughly reviewed." He closed with, "I intend to make a decision based on all of the facts as quickly as possible."
The San Francisco Chronicle called on the mayor to further investigate Mirkarimi's misconduct.
Shortly after that, the San Francisco Bay Guardian updated a story about Mirkarimi's plea with a note about the Chronicle post, accusing the paper of pushing its special interests. "Investigate?" wrote Tim Redmond of the Guardian. "As if there's anything that hasn't already become public. The real message is that the Chron wants Lee to try to get rid of Mirkarimi."
Throughout the months of investigation and revelation, liberal media outlets have been accused of coming to the embattled sheriff's defense since he is sympathetic to their causes.
And what about the good people of San Francisco? Take a look at a collection of tweets about the sentencing in our slideshow below. And be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section: