Vivian
Ho
A
San Francisco police officer was sentenced Friday to 27 days in a work program
for repeatedly violating a domestic violence restraining order filed on behalf
of his ex-girlfriend.
Richard Soares, 31, avoided being put on
probation or placed under a new protective order, which could have impacted his
ability to carry a gun, but Police Chief Greg Suhr said he would seek the
officer's termination.
Soares
was convicted May 7 of nine counts of violating a protective order. He was
acquitted of more serious charges of assault and dissuading a witness.
The
case stemmed from an incident with his then-girlfriend near a Union Square
nightclub on Jan. 7, 2012. Prosecutors said the couple had been attending a
birthday party but stepped out to argue.
On
Geary Street, prosecutors said, the girlfriend hit Soares with her handbag
several times, and in response, he shoved her to the ground, causing her to
suffer a 1-inch cut on the back of her head.
According
to court documents, Soares told a responding officer that his girlfriend was
drunk and fell.
He
was charged the next month, and a protective order was issued ordering him to
have no contact with the woman. However, he continued to live with the
girlfriend and initiated chats with her on a computer game, "Words With
Friends," for the next nine months.
Prosecutors
filed nine counts of violating a protective order against Soares, one for each
month. Testifying at trial, he said there were "gray areas" when it
came to policing, especially regarding restraining orders.
"You
are also taught that there's letter of the law and spirit of the law," he
said, in response to a question about whether he knew that protective orders
remained valid, no matter the actions of the protected party.
"So
if we were to enforce every law that was ever on the books, we wouldn't be able
to cross the street," Soares testified. "Basically what I'm saying is
we are trained that there are certain things that you do enforce and there are
certain things you don't enforce."
Work
program
Superior
Court Judge Richard Ulmer sentenced Soares to three days in the sheriff's work
program for each of the nine counts. He was not sentenced to probation, nor was
a protective order issued for the victim.
"This
sentence was over our objection," said Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the
district attorney's office.
Teresa
Caffese, Soares' attorney, said the sentence was fair in a case in which jurors
found no domestic violence occurred.
"Unfortunately,
because of the district attorney's complete abuse of power and overreaching,
they charged Officer Soares with several counts of violating this restraining
order," she said. "The jurors had to vote the way they did, even
though they said they found the order unlawful.
"This
man was innocent," Caffese said. "The real tragedy is that you can't
correct the 2 1/2 years of resources that have been used to pursue a case with
absolutely no merit."
Beverly
Upton, the executive director of the city's Domestic Violence Consortium, said
she was disappointed in the leniency of the sentencing.
"Clearly
the jury recognized the crimes committed and their impact on public safety and
the public trust," she said.
In
an unusual move for a case involving alleged crimes outside work, the San
Francisco police officers' union sent an e-mail to the private addresses of its
members, encouraging them to attend Soares' sentencing hearing - while off duty
and out of uniform.
"We
want a quick probation so we can assist him with reinstatement," said the
e-mail, a copy of which was provided to The Chronicle.
Union
officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Seeking
termination
Soares
was suspended without pay for the duration of his trial. Chief Suhr noted that
his employment will be determined by the city's Police Commission, but said,
"I will be asking for termination."
Suhr
said, "I'm very clear on this. If my officers get convicted on something
like this, that's that."
He
called Soares' testimony about enforcement of restraining orders
"ridiculous," but added, "Out of an abundance of caution, we
will make sure in our roll call training that it's perfectly clear that
everyone understands what a restraining order is."
Richard
Soares, 31, avoided being put on probation or placed under a new protective
order, which could have impacted his ability to carry a gun, but Police Chief
Greg Suhr said he would seek the officer's termination.
Soares
was convicted May 7 of nine counts of violating a protective order. He was
acquitted of more serious charges of assault and dissuading a witness.
The
case stemmed from an incident with his then-girlfriend near a Union Square
nightclub on Jan. 7, 2012. Prosecutors said the couple had been attending a
birthday party but stepped out to argue.
On
Geary Street, prosecutors said, the girlfriend hit Soares with her handbag
several times, and in response, he shoved her to the ground, causing her to
suffer a 1-inch cut on the back of her head.
According
to court documents, Soares told a responding officer that his girlfriend was
drunk and fell.
He
was charged the next month, and a protective order was issued ordering him to
have no contact with the woman. However, he continued to live with the
girlfriend and initiated chats with her on a computer game, "Words With
Friends," for the next nine months.
Prosecutors
filed nine counts of violating a protective order against Soares, one for each
month. Testifying at trial, he said there were "gray areas" when it
came to policing, especially regarding restraining orders.
"You
are also taught that there's letter of the law and spirit of the law," he
said, in response to a question about whether he knew that protective orders
remained valid, no matter the actions of the protected party.
"So
if we were to enforce every law that was ever on the books, we wouldn't be able
to cross the street," Soares testified. "Basically what I'm saying is
we are trained that there are certain things that you do enforce and there are
certain things you don't enforce."
Work
program
Superior
Court Judge Richard Ulmer sentenced Soares to three days in the sheriff's work
program for each of the nine counts. He was not sentenced to probation, nor was
a protective order issued for the victim.
"This
sentence was over our objection," said Alex Bastian, a spokesman for the
district attorney's office.
Teresa
Caffese, Soares' attorney, said the sentence was fair in a case in which jurors
found no domestic violence occurred.
"Unfortunately,
because of the district attorney's complete abuse of power and overreaching,
they charged Officer Soares with several counts of violating this restraining
order," she said. "The jurors had to vote the way they did, even though
they said they found the order unlawful.
"This
man was innocent," Caffese said. "The real tragedy is that you can't
correct the 2 1/2 years of resources that have been used to pursue a case with
absolutely no merit."
Beverly
Upton, the executive director of the city's Domestic Violence Consortium, said
she was disappointed in the leniency of the sentencing.
"Clearly
the jury recognized the crimes committed and their impact on public safety and
the public trust," she said.
In
an unusual move for a case involving alleged crimes outside work, the San
Francisco police officers' union sent an e-mail to the private addresses of its
members, encouraging them to attend Soares' sentencing hearing - while off duty
and out of uniform.
"We
want a quick probation so we can assist him with reinstatement," said the
e-mail, a copy of which was provided to The Chronicle.
Union
officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Seeking
termination
Soares
was suspended without pay for the duration of his trial. Chief Suhr noted that
his employment will be determined by the city's Police Commission, but said,
"I will be asking for termination."
Suhr
said, "I'm very clear on this. If my officers get convicted on something
like this, that's that."
He
called Soares' testimony about enforcement of restraining orders
"ridiculous," but added, "Out of an abundance of caution, we
will make sure in our roll call training that it's perfectly clear that
everyone understands what a restraining order is."