'Nauseated': Supervisors call for oversight after alleged mass strip search in S.F. women's jail

"Members of the Board of Supervisors are calling for action and accountability after Mission Local reported that women held in a San Francisco jail were allegedly forced to undress in front of each other while sheriff's deputies watched and filmed them with their body-worn cameras. Late Thursday afternoon, 17 women filed a claim with the city saying that deputies violated multiple laws and policies in May when they strip searched them en masse while male deputies were present."

""It's gender-based violence and an abuse of human rights," said District 9 supervisor Jackie Fielder. "It should be condemned by every elected official." A spokesperson for the mayor's office said they could not comment given the pending litigation against the city. District 10 representative Shamann Walton said the Board of Supervisors would have a hearing around this and other incidents of deputy misconduct, but he was not yet sure when."

"District 7 supervisor Myrna Melgar called for a "written formal resolution to ensure that this never happens again." The sheriff, she said, could give the Board of Supervisors a plan, with deadlines, to create culture change in the department. She suggested professional development and more robust training of deputies. "There needs to be accountability, both of the leadership and the people who participated in this," Melgar said."

Seventeen women filed a claim alleging that deputies violated multiple laws and policies during a mass strip search in May, conducted while male deputies were present and body-worn cameras recorded. Supervisors called the actions gender-based violence and an abuse of human rights and demanded condemnation and accountability. The mayor's office declined to comment because of pending litigation. The Board of Supervisors plans a hearing on this and other alleged deputy misconduct. Supervisors urged a written resolution, a plan from the sheriff with deadlines, culture change, professional development, robust deputy training, and accountability to avoid costly lawsuits.

Read at Mission Local