San Francisco Supervisors to Weigh Suspension of Sheriff’s Oversight President
An effort to remove the head of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board faces its first test on Monday, when officials are set to vote on a motion to suspend Commissioner William Palmer.
The Board of Supervisors’ Rules Committee vote follows a watchdog investigation earlier this month, which found that the commissioner violated city law multiple times by using his public position to his personal benefit.
The motion, which would also recommend official misconduct charges against Palmer, will go before the whole board on Tuesday. If approved by the board, the charges would then be forwarded to the Ethics Commission, before a final board vote.
The city’s investigation, conducted by the San Francisco Inspector General, was initiated upon request by Supervisor Stephen Sherrill — after the San Francisco Chronicle published a scathing report this summer alleging that Palmer picked up a woman experiencing a mental health crisis off the street, pressured her to have sex and gave her drugs.
Palmer was not arrested and is not facing criminal charges.
The watchdog’s report detailed a December 2025 traffic stop by San Francisco sheriff’s deputies in the Tenderloin for Palmer’s expired registration.
During the 51-minute stop, Palmer repeated that he was the president of the Oversight Board at least six times, referenced his relationship with Sheriff Paul Miyamoto and threatened retaliation against the deputies.
The report also mentioned that San Francisco Police held Palmer in custody for questioning in July, as part of an investigation into a missing woman.
The report identified the woman as connected to the Chronicle story, and alleged Palmer used his position to attempt to influence and intimidate.
“If you’re in a leadership position, you have to hold yourself to a higher standard,” said Sherrill, who initiated the motion to suspend Palmer. “I think it’s incredibly important for the San Francisco government to be able to look at a situation and honestly say, ‘This is not right.’ We can do better than this.”
Palmer did not immediately respond to a KQED request for comment.
However, in a previous statement to KQED, he said he takes his “responsibilities as a public officer seriously,” and disagrees “with significant factual and legal conclusions contained” in the watchdog report.
Palmer was appointed to the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board, based on his personal experiences with the carceral system.
Now 55, Palmer spent more than 30 years in prison for a crime he committed as a teenager. He was released in 2019, and a court of appeal later found that his sentence amounted to excessive punishment.
He’s since served as a vocal advocate for people in jails.
Palmer’s tenure on the board, however, has involved multiple run-ins with law enforcement.
A woman accused Palmer of rape, though criminal charges were dismissed in 2024. Three other women accused him of violence, according to the Chronicle’s reporting — which also said another woman took out a restraining order against him. That, the Chronicle reports, is in addition to several traffic violations and almost $10,000 in parking fees over six years.
Mayor Daniel Lurie has repeatedly referenced the allegations against Palmer as part of his push for Proposition F, a ballot measure which would expand both the mayor and board’s authority to allow the removal of most commissioners without cause.
Some progressives, including Supervisor Jackie Fielder, the Democratic Socialists of America San Francisco and former Supervisor Dean Preston, have opposed the mayor, saying that it’s already easy for the mayor to remove corrupt officials.
Palmer’s term as a commissioner ends in March, unless he is removed sooner. His tenure as board president closes at the end of September.
KQED’s Samantha Kennedy contributed to this report.