When Christina Corpus won voter support to turn out to be San Mateo County's first Latina sheriff, she vowed to finish the “hands-off and political favors” that she said dictated control of the department and implement a reform agenda to “move our law enforcement agency there.” the twenty first century.”
Her former boss Carlos Bolanos, whom she deposed in 2022, was accused Favoring donors when issuing concealed weapon permits And Raid on an Indiana Batmobile manufacturer on the behest of a wealthy friend. Years earlier, as undersheriff, he was picked up during a raid on a Las Vegas brothel.
During the campaign, Corpus, then a captain, alleged that Bolanos passed her over for a promotion and targeted her and others for lack of loyalty, which Bolanos denied.
“That’s the worst kind of leadership when the people are afraid of you,” she told the Bay Area News Group after the election. “I won’t be that kind of leader.”
But two years later, Corpus now faces many strikingly similar allegations.
The district announced earlier this month an explosive 400-page report from an independent investigator It found that Corpus had an inappropriate relationship together with her former chief of staff, retaliated against officers and employees, and used racist and homophobic slurs within the workplace, amongst other serious allegations against her and department leadership, including illegal possession of rifles with silencers and involvement in questionable actions in real estate transactions.
“Lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest and abuse of authority are the hallmarks of the Corpus administration,” wrote the report’s writer, retired Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell.
The bombshell report sparked loud calls for his resignation from across the department, in addition to from local, state and congressional representatives. Last week, the county Board of Supervisors agreed to place a measure before voters in March that would give supervisors the facility to remove Corpus.
Still, Corpus remained defiant, vehemently denying the allegations and refusing to resign.
She has described the report and efforts to oust her as a part of a politically motivated “coup” orchestrated by a “good ol' boys network” driven by her efforts to reform a department she said was in dire need is in need of reform, is threatened.
Corpus, 53, began working as a correctional officer for the Sheriff's Office greater than twenty years ago before working her way as much as captain and leading the Millbrae Police Department, a division of the Sheriff's Office. She spent much of her profession in neighborhood outreach, including as head of a community policing unit.
Michael Kelly, an ardent Corpus ally and founding father of the Millbrae Anti-Racist Coalition, described her as committed to promoting justice within the county and recalled how she helped organize Dia De Los Muertos events as a captain in Millbrae had, and made clear sending Spanish-speaking representatives to communities of color.
Kelly said Corpus told him she decided to pursue law enforcement after she and her family were victims of a carjacking when she was a young girl. “The way the officers responded and treated her and her family made her feel safe,” he said. “She said, 'I want to be that kind of person.'”
Corpus emerged as a candidate for sheriff within the wake of racial justice protests in 2020, just as local Democratic officials and a few inside the department were on the lookout for a challenger to Bolanos, in line with individuals who helped together with her campaign.
“She was the only one who came forward and said, 'I'm going to run against the existing sheriff,'” said Jim Lawrence, chief executive of Fixin' San Mateo County, a gaggle founded in 2021 that advocates for oversight of the sheriff's office this supported Corpus' campaign.
Lawrence, a former Foster City mayor, said that after Corpus took office, nonetheless, she tried to postpone plans for a civilian oversight committee for her office. During her campaign, Corpus also promised to rebuild relations with the immigrant community, limit the usage of deadly force and conduct a full review of “questionable” department contracts.
The sheriff's office didn’t reply to questions for Corpus.
Fixin' San Mateo County has called for Corpus' resignation following recent allegations against her.
“The Christina Corpus that I knew and worked with during the campaign is no longer the same person,” Lawrence said. “Everything points to an appointment that she agreed upon when she appointed Victor Aenlle as chief of staff.”
Aenlle, who Corpus describes as a longtime friend and who played a key role in her campaign, is at the middle of the sheriff's office scandal.
The investigator's report found “overwhelming factual evidence” that Aenlle and Corpus had an inappropriate relationship, including alleged trips to Hawaii, a present of $11,000 in diamond earrings and an worker who claimed the couple stayed at Aenlle's ranch house having seen “playing football” on the coast.
Corpus was married to a sworn worker of the department but filed for divorce last yr, in line with court records.
Even more troubling, the report alleges the connection led Corpus to “cede control” of the agency to Aenlle, who Cordell, the investigator, described as having “far more experience” as an actual estate agent than in law enforcement. Cordell noted that despite being a civilian, Aenlle exercises “broad and sometimes abusive authority” over sworn personnel and is quick to insult or demean those with whom he disagrees.
Cordell added that Aenlle and Corpus were obsessive about “loyalty bordering on paranoia,” citing an alleged demand to go looking Aenlle's office for bugged devices. The report goes on to explain a demoralized department where not less than 106 sworn employees, starting from deputies to Corpus' deputy, have left since taking office.
Lawrence and others who helped Corpus within the election said Aenlle was a demanding but effective operator in the course of the campaign. They said his apparent takeover of the department got here as a shock, particularly because they viewed Corpus as a confident decision-maker who seemed poised to reshape the agency for the higher.
Aenlle denied the allegations when Cordell interviewed him in the course of the investigation. Attempts to achieve him were unsuccessful.
Earlier this month, the Board of Supervisors voted to eliminate Aenlle's position and ban him from county buildings. But before the move, Corpus said she promoted him to deputy sheriff.
On Thursday, supervisors urged the general public to reject Corpus' claims that she was the victim of a conspiracy to oust her from office.
“We need a sheriff we can trust,” said Supervisor Noelia Corzo, a former Corpus ally. “As a community, we must stand together against lies and corruption.”
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