The Sheriff’s Oversight Board of the City and County of San Francisco met in regular session on Friday, October 3, 2025, with President William Palmer II presiding.
President Palmer called the meeting to order at 2:14 p.m.
ROLL CALL
On the call of the roll. Board Members Afuhaamango, Ortiz, Palmer, and Soo, were noted present.
A quorum of the Board was present.
Dan Leung, Board Secretary presented the ancestral homeland acknowledgement of the Ramaytush Ohlone, who are the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Board Secretary Leung further thanked SFGovTV for recording and televising the meeting on Cable Channel 26, and welcomed members of the public to attend board meetings and provide public comment in-person, by email at sdob@sfgov.org, or by US Postal mail addressed to the Office of the Inspector General, 1 South Van Ness Ave, 8th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103; and noted that in person comment was limited to 2 minutes with General Public Comment taken at the end of the meeting.
Secretary Leung noted a correction to the record from the September meeting. During the roll call for the election of President, the Secretary had announced the vote as 4 ayes and 2 nays. The accurate vote count was 5 ayes and 1 nay. Secretary Leung pologized for the error.
The Secretary acknowledged that at the previous meeting, outgoing President Soo and incoming President Palmer and Vice President Afuhaamango were not given an opportunity to make remarks. To address this oversight, the Secretary added Agenda Item 1 to the current meeting to provide that opportunity.
INTRODUCTION OF BOARD OFFICERS
President Soo thanked the Sheriff’s Office, legal counsel, and partner agencies for their collaboration, highlighted progress in jail conditions and programming, and emphasized trust, teamwork, and ongoing recruitment efforts before turning the floor over to incoming leadership.
President Palmer thanked colleagues and partners for their support, emphasized humane treatment, deputy wellness, and community trust, and outlined goals to expand public engagement and continue reform efforts.
Vice President Afuhaamango shared her commitment to advocating for impacted communities, building on the Board’s progress, prioritizing the hiring of a new Inspector General, and thanked staff and colleagues for their support.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Paul Henderson, Director of the Department of Police Accountability presented outgoing President Soo with a plaque for her work as President for the past two years.
Rani Singh, Chief Counsel for the Sheriff’s Office, presented certificates of appreciation to all Board members in recognition of their dedication and contributions to the Board’s work.
Archbishop Richardson congratulated the Board on its leadership transition, praised outgoing President Soo and the members for their service, and announced the formation of the African Black Community Task Group to partner with the Board in promoting justice and community collaboration.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
There were no discussions or requests for corrections from any Board Members on the September 5, 2025, Regular Board Meeting Minutes.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
There were no public comments.
Member Soo, seconded by Member Afuhaamango, moved to approve the September 5, 2025, Regular Board Meeting Minutes, as presented. The motion carried the following vote:
Ayes: Afuhaamango, Ortiz, Palmer, Soo
Nays: None
APPROVED.
PRESENTATION BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Ben Richey from the Department of Human Resources (DHR) provided an update on the Request for Proposals to engage a recruitment firm for hiring the position of Inspector General and stated that DHR recommends engaging Berkeley Search Consultants.
Discussion from Members Afuhaamango, Soo, Palmer, and Ortiz.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
There were no public comments.
Member Soo, seconded by Member Afuhaamango, moved to approve DHR’s recommendation to engage Berkeley Search Consultants for recruiting the Inspector General. The motion passed with the following vote:
Ayes: Afuhaamango, Ortiz, Palmer, Soo
Nays: None
Member Palmer, seconded by Member Ortiz, moved to select Member Soo as the liaison for collaborating with DHR on the recruitment process. The motion passed with the following vote:
Ayes: Afuhaamango, Ortiz, Palmer, Soo
Nays: None
PRESENTATION BY ANTHONY WALKER
Anthony Walker, author of B is for Black Wealth and creator of A Guide to (Inter)Generational Wealth, presented his program and explored potential for implementing a jail based initiative designed to help residents learn about finances, and to adopt positive behaviors that benefit both their families and society.
Discussion and questions from Members Soo, Ortiz, Afuhaamango, and Palmer.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
There were no public comments.
SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT OVERSIGHT BOARD 2025 Q3 REPORT
Member Soo initiated the discussion on the SDOB 2025 Q3 Report. There were no other member input.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
There were no public comments.
Member Afuhaamango, seconded by Member Palmer, moved to approve the SDOB 2025 Q3 Report as presented. The motion passed with the following vote:
Ayes: Afuhaamango, Ortiz, Palmer, Soo
Nays: None
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
President Palmer initiated discussion by thanking Member Soo for eliciting Melinda Benson from Prisoner Legal Services to speak at our December meeting; reminding the members about the SFSO Faith in Blue – Blessing of the Badge event and reminding board members that the November meeting would be on November 14 instead of November 7.
Members discussed future agenda items which may include presentations from Hillary Kunis, the DA’s Office, Police Academy Training, probation and parole officers, the Unity Bar and Juvenile Justice; bringing SDOB to the schools and communities including Fillmore and Bayview; jail visits to San Bruno.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
There were no public comments.
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
Brian Freeman mentioned receiving eviction notices from the Sheriff’s Office on September 20 and 23, 2024.
Members Afuhaamango, Soo, and Palmer provided brief responses.
Andrew White spoke about LA oversight and his experiences after moving to San Francisco.
ADJOURNMENT
Member Soo adjourned the meeting in remembrance of John Burton, Belva Davis, and Secretary Leung’s father who passed away recently. President Palmer also recognized a member of Urban Alchemy who was shot while protecting our streets
Secretary Leung congratulated President Palmer and Vice President Afuhaamango on their successful first meeting.
Having completed the agenda and there being no further business, the Board adjourned at the hour of 4:52 p.m.
N.B. The Minutes of this meeting set forth all actions taken by the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board on the matters stated.
Approved by the Sheriff's Department Oversight Board on November 14, 2025.
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Dan Leung, Board Secretary