The Cost of Inaction
San Mateo County
$13 Million+ in Settlements and Counting
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office has faced multiple lawsuits and sustained public scrutiny over allegations of misconduct, use-of-force incidents, and failures in accountability. During the past five years, San Mateo County has paid out more than $13.4 million in settlements. The county is also facing more than a dozen new claims due to alleged misconduct by the former sheriff, with a total potential liability of over $48 million as of June 2026.
Cases include our previous sheriff Christina Corpus, who was the subject of a months-long investigation that concluded her tenure was marked by “lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest, and abuses of authority.” When she refused to resign, our county spent $5,000,000 on a special election to enable her removal. We are now being sued for more than $48,000,000 across more than a dozen different lawsuits related to her term as sheriff.
In 2023, the county settled with the family of 56-year-old Sandra Harmon, who was shot and killed during a mental health crisis. Her family was paid $170,000.
The previous year, the county paid $750,000 to a woman who was arrested and jailed, and left on the floor of a cell without medical attention for nine hours, after deputies mistook a serious medical emergency for drug use.
Also in 2022, then-sheriff Bolanos spent $10,000 to send deputies to Indiana to raid a retired pastor who builds Batmobiles, at the behest of a personal friend. This resulted in a report by Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith that concluded that both the raid and charges against the carmaker, which were dropped, should never have happened. The judge’s investigation and report cost our county an additional $55,000.
Between 2018 and 2022, a female member of the Sheriff’s Office SWAT team was repeatedly harassed by her team leader, and eventually assaulted. As a result, the county paid the victim an $8,000,000 settlement in 2024.
In October of 2018, five employees of the Sheriff’s Office using TASERs killed a young Black father, Chinedu Okobi, who had been walking down El Camino Real in Millbrae. The county eventually paid his family $4,500,000. No Sheriff’s Office employees were disciplined or charged.
Together, these incidents reflect a broader pattern: when oversight is limited and not independent, accountability often arrives only after significant harm and financial cost. An independent inspector general would provide continuous, external review of the Sheriff’s Office, helping identify problems earlier and reducing the likelihood of repeated legal and financial fallout.
San Francisco County
Jail Fight Club
In 2015, San Francisco sheriff’s deputies were accused of forcing incarcerated individuals to participate in “gladiator-style” fights inside county jail facilities. Prosecutors alleged that deputies threatened inmates and encouraged fights for their own amusement. Three deputies were ultimately charged in connection with the scandal. Later, criminal charges were dismissed after investigators found the Sheriff’s Department had mishandled the investigation and destroyed key evidence.
The scandal became a symbol of how misconduct can persist when weak accountability systems fail. In response to concerns about deputy misconduct and inappropriate jail practices, San Francisco voters approved the creation of a Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board and an independent Inspector General in 2020. The Inspector General now serves as an independent watchdog over the Sheriff’s Department operations.
Sonoma County
Proactive Oversight That Prevented Future Harm
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office has paid millions of dollars in settlements related to deputy misconduct and excessive force, including a $1.35 million settlement after a sheriff’s K-9 severely injured a man during an arrest.
Rather than waiting for public complaints or additional lawsuits, Sonoma County’s Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO) identified systemic problems through its routine oversight responsibilities. Under county ordinance, IOLERO is required to audit every Sheriff’s Office investigation involving uses of force that result in significant injury—even when no member of the public files a complaint.
During a series of audits, IOLERO found that the Sheriff’s K-9 unit had been trained using the wrong legal standard for deploying police dogs to bite suspects. The office concluded that these flawed policies were contributing to unnecessary injuries and costly lawsuits. Although the Sheriff did not adopt every recommendation, the department revised its K-9 policies and training based on many of IOLERO’s findings.
According to IOLERO’s former director, the changes had a measurable impact: the Sheriff’s Office stopped seeing the pattern of expensive K-9 lawsuits, and deputies began using police dogs more appropriately. Subsequent IOLERO audits continued to identify issues and recommend further improvements to strengthen accountability and reduce unnecessary uses of force.
Sonoma County demonstrates the value of independent oversight that is proactive—not simply complaint-driven. By regularly auditing serious incidents and identifying systemic problems before they generate additional lawsuits or public controversy, an independent oversight office can improve public safety, reduce legal liability, and help law enforcement agencies correct problems before they become recurring failures.