San Francisco Police Department

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi's booking photo

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi's wife told two neighbors in separate conversations that he had abused her twice last year and threatened to take their son away from her, according to a police affidavit released Tuesday by the San Francisco Superior Court.

One neighbor, Ivory Madison, recorded a video of her conversation with Mirkarimi's wife, Eliana Lopez, the affidavit said.

“This happened yesterday. Two times in 2011 and this is the second time this is happening,” Lopez told Madison on Jan. 1, according to a transcript of the video cited in the affidavit. Madison reported the incident to police on Jan. 4.

Madison also recorded video of a bruise on Lopez's right arm, near her bicep, which Lopez said was the result of an altercation she had with Mirkarimi on Dec. 31.

Mirkarimi, who was sworn in as sheriff on Jan. 8, was arrested Friday on misdemeanor charges of domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness.

The abuse allegedly occurred during an argument between Mirkarimi and Lopez as they and their 2-year-old son, Theo, were headed to a restaurant for lunch, Madison told investigators. According to the affidavit, the couple fought over Lopez's request to take their son to visit her family in Venezuela, where Lopez was once a soap opera star, after Mirkarimi's inauguration.

Lopez, the affidavit states, told Madison that Mirkarimi started to scream "fuck you, fuck you, you are trying to take Theo away from me," and then turned the car around and "stated something to the effect that she didn't deserve to eat."

Madison told investigators that Lopez said the family then came home, where "the fighting continued and became louder and Ross Mirkarimi continued to be verbally abusive and physically abusive," according to the affidavit. Madison stated that Lopez said Mirkarimi was "pushing, pulling and grabbing" her.

At one point during the altercation, according to the affidavit, Lopez pleaded with Mirkarimi, "look what this is doing to our son, look what you are doing to our son, please stop."

Then, Lopez told Madison she "ran out of the house and into the street screaming 'do you want me to call Police.'" Theo was "also outside screaming and crying," according to the affidavit. At that point, the affidavit states, Mirkarimi replied, "no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, uh, sorry, sorry, please come back in the house, please come back in the house."

As Lopez was describing the incident to Madison, her phone rang; Lopez said it was Mirkarimi, according to the affidavit. Lopez explained that she left the house while Mirkarimi was in the shower and that he didn't know Lopez was at Madison's home. Lopez, the affidavit states, told Madison that Mirkarimi didn't want his wife to leave the house or to tell anybody what happened. Lopez then said she told her husband, "I'm going to tell people and I'm going to leave the house and then he looked scared."

In the video, Lopez said, "I told Ross I want to work on the marriage, we need help, I been telling him we need help and I'm going to use this just in case he wants to take Theo away from me because he did said that he is very powerful and can do it."

Another neighbor, who also spoke with Lopez on Jan. 4, provided investigators with a strikingly similar account. The second neighbor described the New Year's Eve confrontation as Mirkarimi "going ballistic," according to the affidavit.

When Theo saw the bruise on Lopez’s arm, he said, “Daddy made boo-boo on mommy’s arm,” the second neighbor told investigators.

Mirkarimi’s attorney, Robert Waggener, did not immediately return a call for comment. However, in a statement Friday, Mirkarimi and Lopez denied that any abuse had taken place. According to the affidavit, lawyers for Mirkarimi and Lopez would not allow their clients to speak to investigators.

San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón obtained a protective order last week prohibiting Mirkarimi from contacting Lopez or his son.

On Friday, Gascón said that text messages from Madison’s phone would be a key piece of evidence showing domestic violence had occurred. The messages were not mentioned in the affidavit.

Lopez told reporters gathered in front of Mirkarimi’s City Hall office Friday that she had no complaints against her husband.

“This is my family, my husband and my son,” she said. “This is unbelievable and this is completely wrong.”