San Francisco police union says San Mateo County sheriff not welcome

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco's police union is letting embattled San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus know in no uncertain terms that she won't be welcome at an upcoming event to honor women patrol officers.

Corpus had apparently RSVP'd to attend the Celebrating 50 Years of SFPD Women on Patrol event on March 5.

When union leaders found out, they didn't mince words in a letter rebuking the sheriff on Thursday.

"Do the right thing for once, respect the contributions of these women, stay home on March 5, and work on your resume," according to the letter from San Francisco Police Officers Association President Tracy McCray.

The union president said Thursday that she didn't want the event to become "a political spectacle for someone trying to cast a good light on themselves at the expense of the public servants we are honoring."

In her letter to the sheriff, McCray referred to Corpus' feuds with unions, referencing Carlos Tapia, one of her biggest critics and president of the San Mateo County Deputy Sheriff's Association.

Tapia was arrested by the sheriff's office last November on charges that were later dropped by the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.  

"We are a union that is sickened by your lust for power so strong that  you would use that power to arrest the president of the union who represents your deputies," McCray said in the letter.

Corpus didn't immediately respond Thursday evening to a request for comment on the union's letter.

Corpus has faced mounting calls from local and state leaders to resign in the wake of an 400-page investigation into her administration that was released in November, containing findings of abuse of power, retaliation, and intimidation in her office.

Corpus has refused to resign and said the attacks on her are politically motivated because she is a female sheriff up against a group of officers who are part of a "good ol' boys club."

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors doesn't have the authority to remove the sheriff or any other elected official, so they put the issue on the ballot in a special election set for March 4. Measure A, a charter amendment, would grant the board temporary power to remove the sheriff for certain reasons.