(KRON) — An lawyer who represents San Mateo County’s embattled sheriff, Christina Corpus, accused her critics on Friday of believing that “law enforcement is a white man’s world.”
Sheriff Corpus has resisted a refrain of calls demanding her resignation over the previous few months. Officers who publicly demanded that Corpus step down embody the County Board of Supervisors and the Deputy Sheriff’s Affiliation.
The county’s unbiased investigator, former decide LaDoris Cordell, wrote in a 2024 investigation report, “Lies, secrecy, intimidation, retaliation, conflicts of interest, and abuses of authority are the hallmarks of the Corpus administration. Nothing short of new leadership can save this organization that is in turmoil, and its personnel demoralized.”
San Mateo Sheriff Christina Corpus talks to reporters in Redwood Metropolis on Oct. 26, 2023. (Peninsula Press by way of Bay Metropolis Information)
Lawyer Bradley Gage of Brad Gage Regulation agency is representing Corpus as they put together to file a lawsuit in opposition to county officers. Gage claims that the sheriff is the sufferer of discrimination, harassment, and defamation from salacious rumors.
Gage wrote on Friday, “There are some who unfortunately, still believe that law enforcement is a white man’s world. Some do not like the fact that Christina, who is a Latina, was elected Sheriff. False allegations have swirled around her, based on an incomplete investigation that was missing the key exculpatory evidence. We aim to set the record straight.”
Timeline: San Mateo County Sheriff Corpus scandal
A scathing report launched in 2024 by the county’s unbiased investigator concluded that Corpus abused her energy, created a poisonous work atmosphere, and had a romantic relationship with former assistant sheriff Victor Aenlle. Due to their “intimate relationship” and battle of curiosity, the sheriff unofficially handed management of the workplace over to Aenlle, Cordell claimed.
San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus (Picture: San Mateo County Sheriff’s Workplace)
The sheriff beforehand denounced the report, saying, “As a woman of color, this disturbs me deeply. These allegations are absolutely not true.”
This week, the sheriff’s lawyer blasted the investigation as an “evil scheme” devised to “skewer” Corpus with false allegations and unsupported findings. In new court docket paperwork, Gage describes the sheriff as a devoted public servant who was focused as a result of she is a girl and Latina.
Gage mentioned Corpus was elected as sheriff in 2022 as a result of voters wished to enhance accountability and transparency within the sheriff’s workplace. The unbiased investigation was “anything but independent. While we know the county paid Judge Cordell for her hit piece, we do not yet know how much was paid,” the lawyer wrote.
Corpus has vowed to proceed main the sheriff’s workplace. The deputies’ union advised their sheriff in November, “We will no longer work with you. That ship has sailed.”