Embattled San Mateo County Sheriff Faces Mounting Calls to Resign

San Mateo County supervisors are renewing their calls for embattled Sheriff Christina Corpus to resign in the wake of an investigation that found abuses of power, intimidation, retaliation and favoritism have become commonplace during her short time in office.

Supervisors Ray Mueller and Noelia Corzo said Thursday that Corpus, who was sworn in last year, and her only remaining undersheriff, Daniel Perea, must resign to allow trust to be restored to the department.

“We are in an operational crisis in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office that is without precedent,” Mueller said during a news conference.

Corzo said this is the most pressing matter in the county. “She is not a sheriff we can trust, and she needs to resign immediately,” Corzo said.

Days earlier, all five captains in the Sheriff’s Office sent Corpus a letter notifying her they had passed a vote of no confidence in her and Perea over the weekend and asked them both to resign. The leaders of the two unions representing sheriff’s deputies and sergeants in the county also previously called on Corpus to resign.

Three assistant sheriffs or undersheriffs have left the office since complaints about Corpus began to surface, including one who officials said was fired in retaliation for speaking to an investigator looking into allegations against Corpus.

“Collectively, the leadership for all of the professional sworn law enforcement in the county, and the captains in the county, have called for Sheriff Corpus’ resignation, and Undersheriff Perea’s resignation,” Mueller said during the news conference. “The two are literally left standing alone in the Sheriff’s Department. The sheriff has lost the faith and trust of her team.”

Thursday’s announcement builds on actions already taken by the county leaders.

On Tuesday, the full Board of Supervisors advanced a plan to put a measure on the March ballot that would give it the power to fire an elected sheriff for cause.

The board is expected to finalize its decision at a Dec. 3 meeting. If the measure is placed on the ballot and approved by voters, the new charter rules would set a four-vote threshold for the five-member Board of Supervisors to remove a sheriff.

Last week, the board passed a vote of no confidence in Corpus and demanded she resign. That came after the publication of a 408-page investigative report into Corpus that the county retained retired Superior Court Judge LaDoris H. Cordell to conduct.

“Lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest, and abuse of authority are hallmarks of the Corpus administration,” Cordell wrote in an executive summary of her report. “Sheriff Corpus should resign, and Victor Aenlle’s employment with the Sheriff’s Office should be terminated immediately. Only new leadership can save this organization, which is mired in chaos and demoralization.”

Following Cordell’s recommendation, the board also unanimously last week voted to eliminate the position of executive director in the sheriff’s office, which was held by Aenlle.

Cordell wrote in her report that Aenlle has “a personal relationship beyond mere friendship” with Corpus. “Evidence suggests they have had an intimate relationship.”

A group of state and federal lawmakers representing the peninsula and the South Bay — Reps. Anna Eshoo and Kevin Mullin, State Sen. Josh Becker, and Assemblymembers Marc Berman and Diane Papan — also joined the wave of officials calling for Corpus to resign in a joint statement on Monday.

Corpus, in a previous statement, denounced Cordell’s report as “a hatchet job” and said it was “filled with lies.” She did not respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

Corpus has also been criticized for the arrest of Carlos Tapia, the president of the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, who has been a vocal critic of her.

Tapia turned himself in and was arrested on multiple charges, including felony grand theft, just hours before the Cordell report was released. The charges are apparently connected to concerns about alleged irregularities with his time card.

San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen M. Wagstaffe said in a statement that the Tapia case is under review by his office “to determine whether criminal charges for time card fraud are warranted,” but added that no decision has been made.

“We have requested additional investigation by the Sheriff’s Office. Our goal is to have the decision on charging made in advance of his arraignment date on Dec. 9,” Wagstaffe said.

Mueller said on Thursday that he confirmed that a former captain under Corpus, Brian Philip, was ordered to arrest Tapia but chose to resign instead. “Litigation has commenced,” Mueller said, noting that Philip has brought a claim against the county.

“San Mateo County taxpayers simply cannot afford the financial liability of a sheriff we cannot trust,” Mueller said.

“We are calling on Sheriff Corpus again today to resign and to save the taxpayers of this county the cost it will take to remove her,” Mueller said. “Which, if she does not do, we will do.”

KQED’s Brian Krans contributed to this report.