SMC News

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe announced this morning he is throwing out the timecard fraud case against deputy’s union president Carlos Tapia, who was arrested on the orders of Sheriff Christina Corpus. Wagstaffe said: “We have concluded based on the follow-up investigation that no crime was committed by Deputy Carlos Tapia, that the…

San Mateo County supervisors are attempting a historic feat in the state: removing an elected sheriff via charter amendment and a simultaneous recall vote. County supervisors are asking voters in March to give them the temporary authority to remove Sheriff Christina Corpus two years into her first term after “unprecedented complaints.” An independent investigation found the hallmarks of her…

Earlier this month, the county released an explosive 400-page independent investigator’s report that found Corpus had an inappropriate relationship with her former chief of staff, retaliated against officers and employees, and used racist and homophobic slurs in the workplace, among other serious allegations against her and department leadership, including improperly possessing rifles with silencers and engaging in questionable real…

Fixin’ San Mateo County, a community organization dedicated to independent civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Office, released a statement Wednesday applauding the board’s decision to investigate the dispute between the Sheriff’s Office and the unions. It also called for the installation of a permanent inspector general to provide oversight and ensure law enforcement accountability. 

Following persistent demands from the community for increased oversight of the Sheriff’s Office, the County’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the formation of a civilian advisory commission last week… Still, activist Nancy Goodban, Fixin’ San Mateo County executive director, said the resolution lacks two critical factors: a full-time inspector general and the ability to ask…

Following hours of expert, staff and public input on Sheriff’s Office oversight, San Mateo County supervisors backed a model that creates a civilian advisory body, reinstates a public safety and social justice subcommittee, and contracts an inspector general on an as-needed basis.

Fixin’ San Mateo County (FxSMC) is pleased to announce that the ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NorCal) has endorsed FxSMC, and is partnering with them to support efforts to establish independent civilian oversight of the Sheriff’s Office.

The man, Chinedu V. Okobi, 36, died in 2018 after a deputy repeatedly used a Taser on him in a struggle that began when law enforcement officers saw him jaywalking in Millbrae, Calif.

The data, released this week by the state attorney general, reveals that Black drivers and pedestrians are far more likely to be stopped and searched than white people in nearly every part of the state, despite being less likely to be found carrying contraband, such as illegal guns or drugs, when stopped. Some of the Bay…

A Woodside woman who was arrested while suffering a medical emergency that deputies mistook for drug or alcohol impairment has settled her lawsuit against San Mateo County for $750,000, according to an agreement dated August 1.