Our Petition
Goal: 600 signatures
We’re so thankful to have exceeded our initial goal of 500 signatures.
Your support makes all the difference. Our petition is closed now, and will be delivered to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, August 25, with 565 signatures.
PETITION TEXT
It’s time for an Inspector General
We, the undersigned, call upon the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to establish a regular, ongoing independent inspector general for the Sheriff’s Office.
Multiple past sheriffs have each had their own scandals. Operation Dollhouse, the Batmobile, sexual harassment within the SWAT team, and a 400-page investigation into misconduct have permeated news cycles for decades.
The death of Chinedu Okobi at the hands of Sheriff’s officers, and the lack of accountability for his death, seriously damaged the relationship between the Sheriff’s Office and the community.
Until November 2021, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office continued turning incarcerated people over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in spite of strong community opposition, further eroding trust between law enforcement and residents. Our county was one of the last in the Bay Area to end this practice.
And most recently, former sheriff Christina Corpus’s misconduct has brought national attention to a lack of accountability in our county.
These scandals have ruined lives and caused our county considerable embarrassment. And they have cost us millions of dollars. Over the course of 4 years, San Mateo County paid more than $13 million as a result of legal action surrounding the Sheriff’s Office, and is now facing more than $48 million in new lawsuits as the result of alleged misconduct by the former sheriff.
Since 2021, the Coalition for a Safer San Mateo County has highlighted the need for an inspector general. The Independent Civilian Advisory Commission on the Sheriff’s Office, created by the Board in 2023, has also recommended an inspector general to provide transparency, accountability, and fairness.
We are one of the few Bay Area counties without an inspector general. The county needs an authority to:
- Monitor jail and patrol operations, including health services for incarcerated people.
- Investigate deaths in custody, excessive use of force, and confidential complaints from residents and Sheriff’s Office employees.
- Review use of force patterns, misconduct allegations, and the quality of internal audits.
- Audit Sheriff’s Office operations.
- Recommend policy and procedural improvements to the Sheriff’s Office.
- Communicate findings to the public.
The people of San Mateo County call upon the Board of Supervisors to utilize the legal authority granted to them under AB 1185 and step up to their responsibility to our community.
It’s time for an inspector general.
PETITION TEXT
It’s time for an Inspector General
We, the undersigned, call upon the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to establish a regular, ongoing independent inspector general for the Sheriff’s Office.
the full petition text
Multiple past sheriffs have each had their own scandals. Operation Dollhouse, the Batmobile, sexual harassment within the SWAT team, and a 400-page investigation into misconduct have permeated news cycles for decades.
The death of Chinedu Okobi at the hands of Sheriff’s officers, and the lack of accountability for his death, seriously damaged the relationship between the Sheriff’s Office and the community.
Until November 2021, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office continued turning incarcerated people over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in spite of strong community opposition, further eroding trust between law enforcement and residents. Our county was one of the last in the Bay Area to end this practice.
And most recently, former sheriff Christina Corpus’s misconduct has brought national attention to a lack of accountability in our county.
These scandals have ruined lives and caused our county considerable embarrassment. And they have cost us millions of dollars. Over the course of 4 years, San Mateo County paid more than $13 million as a result of legal action surrounding the Sheriff’s Office, and is now facing more than $48 million in new lawsuits as the result of alleged misconduct by the former sheriff.
Since 2021, the Coalition for a Safer San Mateo County has highlighted the need for an inspector general. The Independent Civilian Advisory Commission on the Sheriff’s Office, created by the Board in 2023, has also recommended an inspector general to provide transparency, accountability, and fairness.
We are one of the few Bay Area counties without an inspector general. The county needs an authority to:
- Monitor jail and patrol operations, including health services for incarcerated people.
- Investigate deaths in custody, excessive use of force, and confidential complaints from residents and Sheriff’s Office employees.
- Review use of force patterns, misconduct allegations, and the quality of internal audits.
- Audit Sheriff’s Office operations.
- Recommend policy and procedural improvements to the Sheriff’s Office.
- Communicate findings to the public.
The people of San Mateo County call upon the Board of Supervisors to utilize the legal authority granted to them under AB 1185 and step up to their responsibility to our community.
It’s time for an inspector general.
Our petition is closed now, and will be delivered to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, August 25.