The San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury has accused Corpus of a conflict of interest pertaining to the hiring and supervision of her department’s former executive director of administration, Victor Aenlle, with whom she had a close personal relationship. The grand jury also accused Corpus of three counts of retaliation, pertaining to the termination of former assistant sheriff Ryan Monaghan, the transfer of Captain Brian Philip, and the arrest of Deputy Carlos Tapia, the president of the deputy sheriff’s association.
In the news
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Sheriff arrives at courthouse where the grand jury is meeting
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus, who is battling corruption allegations, arrived at the private door of the San Mateo County Superior Court at the Government Center in Redwood City on Friday morning.
Upstairs, the county’s civil grand jury was meeting to consider whether to recommend her removal from office. If the grand jury decides to issue an “accusation” against her, the case would proceed to a jury trial.
The Post wasn’t able to determine whether she appeared before the grand jury on Friday. Grand jury proceedings are secret.
Judge says Corpus must testify in civil grand jury
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus’ efforts to avoid trial and testimony were futile this week, after the courts determined she must obey a subpoena order to testify in front of a civil grand jury and the Board of Supervisor’s efforts to remove her continue as planned.
Sheriff files suit against DA after she’s subpoenaed to testify before civil grand jury
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corps is trying to stop two attempts to remove her removal from office — including trying to shield herself from testifying before a civil grand jury. Corpus had been subpoenaed to testify before the civil grand jury on Tuesday, but her attorneys filed a motion to stop her testimony, claiming that District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe’s office ought to be recused since he is acting as both the administrator of the civil grand jury and as prosecutor.
San Mateo County sheriff subpoenaed to grand jury
Sheriff Christina Corpus is requesting the recusal of District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe from any prosecutorial role and administration of civil grand jury proceedings regarding the sheriff, according to a claim filed with the courts Monday. On May 28, Wagstaffe subpoenaed Corpus — who may be the first sheriff removed from office in California’s history over allegations of misconduct — to appear for the civil grand jury to “testify as a witness in a pending investigation” on June 10.
San Mateo court rejects Sheriff Corpus’ effort to halt removal process
A San Mateo County court rejected embattled Sheriff Christina Corpus’ attempt to block removal proceedings against her, County Attorney John Nibbelin announced during a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. “The court denied the petition for a TRO (temporary restraining order),” Nibbelin said. “The court indicated that it would be premature to rule on matters as such.” According to Nibbelin, the temporary restraining order was denied on procedural grounds rather than on the substance of the filing. Corpus’ attorneys argued the removal process violates her right to due process and pledged to continue challenging it in court.
San Mateo County supervisors move forward with plan to remove embattled sheriff
San Mateo County took a big step Thursday to remove its embattled sheriff. In a tense special meeting largely held in a closed session, county supervisors voted 5-0 to send Sheriff Christina Corpus an official notice of intent to remove her from office.
Fixin’ San Mateo County Calls for Public Release of Notice of Intent to Remove Sheriff
San Mateo County, CA – Fixin’ San Mateo County strongly urges Sheriff Christina Corpus to remove her objection to the public release of the 59-page Notice of Intent to Remove the Sheriff (NOI).
At today’s special meeting, the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to remove Sheriff Christina Corpus from office, based on the allegations delineated in the NOI. The County had offered Sheriff Corpus the opportunity to keep the NOI secret, and her attorneys asked to do so. Sheriff Corpus campaigned on a platform of transparency and integrity, and Fixin’ urges her to reconsider her request to keep the NOI under wraps. Powerful people operating in secrecy is a significant part of the reason the county finds itself in this difficult situation.
“I am disappointed that the Sheriff sought to keep this report out of the public eye,” said Jim Lawrence, Board Chair of Fixin’ San Mateo County. “With this secrecy, we don’t know what the supervisors voted on today. The public deserves transparency.”
The NOI was developed with taxpayer dollars after the overwhelming passage to Measure A. We commend the Board for exercising its oversight responsibility — first by hiring an independent investigator to look at concerns raised by employees of the Sheriff’s Office, then acting on the findings by sponsoring Measure A. But transparency is one of the key advantages of oversight, and release of the NOI is an essential step.
The next step to better oversight is to hire a permanent Inspector General, instead of relying on ad hoc crisis response. If we had an Inspector General the situation may not have come to this. Deputies would have had an independent avenue to escalate their complaints and steps would have been taken earlier to address their concerns.
Fixin’ has led a broad coalition in pursuit of reform. Six local governments representing 60% of the county’s population endorsed our efforts, alongside more than 35 organizations advocating for stronger oversight. The county has paid out over $13 million in settlements related to misconduct in the past four years, with millions more in pending lawsuits and the costs of a special election.
Fixin’ remains steadfast in our support for the hardworking deputies who risk their lives to protect our community. Oversight is not punitive; it should be of benefit to the deputies and staff as well as the larger community. True public safety requires both accountability and trust among law enforcement employees, and between law enforcement and the people they serve.
Media Contact:
Jim Lawrence
Fixin’ San Mateo County
408-590-0429, jtlawrence94404@yahoo.com
Inside the report that cleared San Mateo County’s top executive
A previously confidential investigation into Sheriff Christina Corpus’ claims against San Mateo County Executive Mike Callagy, including allegations of racism, harassment and political sabotage, found nearly all her accusations to be unsubstantiated, according to a newly released report made public by the Board of Supervisors.
State opens jail death review office; County cases under scrutiny
A new state office has been tasked to review local jail deaths throughout California and make recommendations for potential changes in practices or policies involving inmate custody. During a community presentation via Zoom Tuesday night, May 6, Ganter talked about the division, its responsibilities, and what it expects from local jurisdictions statewide. The session comes amid scrutiny over the deaths of six inmates in San Mateo County over the past two years.