John Ramirez, chief deputy of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office, will become Sheriff Paul Miyamoto’s new chief of staff, according to an internal memo shared with all personnel in the sheriff’s department on Tuesday and obtained by Mission Local.
And, just like his predecessor, Ramirez was once subject to a criminal investigation, though he was cleared of any wrongdoing.
In May 2020, while he was a captain, Ramirez was filmed at a Black Lives Matter demonstration approaching a protester from behind and pushing them onto the asphalt with his nightstick.
The San Francisco district attorney at the time, Chesa Boudin, then opened a criminal investigation into Ramirez’s behavior in July 2020.
At the time, Miyamoto said there was an internal probe underway into the “actions of our staff during crowd management activities,” but an “initial review of available information and circumstances does not appear to rise to criminal conduct,” NBC Bay Area reported.
Prior to his promotion this week, Ramirez, who joined the sheriff’s department in 1998, was an administration and programs division commander. He became chief deputy in January 2024.
His previous assignments included working in the county jail, on community programs and with the investigative services unit, according to the “inter-office correspondence” reviewed by Mission Local.
Sheriff Miyamoto is surrounded by recent controversy.
His former chief of staff, Richard Jue, was also the subject of an investigation after he was booked on two misdemeanor charges in June this year for driving a city vehicle into a parked Tesla, fleeing the scene, and then filing a false report about the incident.
Jue is no longer on the sheriff department’s payroll, spokesperson Tara Moriarty said.
Miyamoto earlier endorsed a MAGA Republican for this summer, a decision politicos called senseless.
Earlier this week, news broke that Miyamoto wrote a letter of recommendation for and rehired Sgt. Michael Kim, who had been convicted by federal prosecutors in the case of Chinatown gangster Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow.
Miyamoto surrounds himself with criminals. It’s a weird look for a SHERIFF.
Nothing’s changed. We were peacefully protesting the Rodney King cop verdict at that same intersection in 1992, and cops were beating on people and arresting them.
Did you have a permit for the demonstration?
Were you blocking traffic or pedestrians?
If so then you would likely be arrested. And force would be used if your resisted.
Can’t hire essential line staff because of the mayor’s funding freeze, but somehow there’s always room for more upward mobility at the top? Hmm…
Pushing a person to the ground from behind like that – how is that not a crime? It is 100% bully behaviour, at a minimum. This is why people end up hating cops and sheriffs. It’s too bad these bullies end up with such power. You’d hope SF would show more sense.
On the video was poor tactics with Mr. Ramirez. Should’ve came up, established the line and then moved the people. This guy watches too much COPS on TV. I’ve done something exactly like this, but had a line with five officers move about 80 people out of the way.
I thought it was a serious criminal investigation, and then I learned it was Chesa Boudin, the guy who campaigned for DA by saying he was going to prosecute cops, and never successfully did so even once.
I’m glad Ramirez didn’t suffer too much from what was clearly Boudin’s political witch hunt.