Attention in Mirkarimi Abuse Case Shifts to Neighbor-Accuser

Ivory Madison, the neighbor of Ross Mirkarimi and wife Eliana Lopez, is the one who reported the sheriff's alleged abuse to police.

Media and public attention in the domestic abuse allegations surrounding San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi have now centered around Ivory Madison, the neighbor of Mirkarimi and wife Eliana Lopez whose actions started the scandal rolling.

It was Madison -- a comic book writer with a history as a feminist activist -- to whom Lopez confided that Mirkarimi had bruised her, according to police affidavits. And it was Madison who Lopez allowed to videotape her bruises.

Madison then reported Lopez's interactions to police, who seized her video camera and cell phone. Mirkarimi was arrested on Jan. 13 for three counts of misdemeanor domestic abuse.

Madison has not commented publicly, but media reports have dug up her past: she briefly headed the National Organization for Women chapter in New Orleans and attained a law degree. As an editor, she once deleted from a classmate's writing references to reading a Playboy on a bus, an incident which led to a sexual harassment accusation when the writer re-inserted the reference.

Lopez has taken to the airwaves in San Francisco and in her native Venezuela to say that Madison overstepped herself in reporting the contact to police.

Other character witnesses say Madison is a stand-up individual, leaving little for the media grist mill to consume.

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi was scheduled to be arraigned in San Francisco Superior Court on Thursday afternoon.

 

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us