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The union president who served as a leading voice opposing San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus testified Monday that he previously had no qualms with her and even voted for her when she ran for the office.
“It was good,” Carlos Tapia, president of the Deputy Sheriff’s Association, said in court of his working relationship with Corpus both in the years before and shortly after she began work as the county’s top law-enforcement officer following her election to the post in 2022.
“She had an open-door policy,” Tapia said.
Tapia was among those who testified as Corpus’ public hearing for her potential removal from office moved into its second week. The hearing in San Mateo County Superior Court in downtown Redwood City is expected to last until Friday.
The hearing has already brought Corpus and many current and former colleagues of hers to the witness stand since it started Aug. 18. The proceeding is a result of the sheriff’s appeal of the unanimous decision by county supervisors in June to oust her following allegations of corruption, employee retaliation, use of racial and homophobic slurs, and other offenses.
Corpus has denied wrongdoing and filed a $10 million lawsuit against the county for alleged discrimination and harassment.
At least early on, Tapia said in court, his professional interactions with Corpus were amicable and supportive.
“She was good not only to myself but to the troops,” Tapia said, adding that Corpus was approachable and would listen to what he had to say.
When Corpus decided to run for sheriff, he said, “I was happy for her.”
Tapia remained neutral during her election campaign but did end up voting for her, he said.
Tapia also testified that he was on good terms initially with Corpus’ former chief of staff, Victor Aenlle.
But that changed when union members started to complain about Aenlle around early 2024, Tapia said.
Their concerns involved Aenlle’s treatment of certain sheriff’s employees and his decision to wear a uniform and carry a gun. However, the chief of staff was a civilian, not a sworn position, Tapia said.
Tapia brought the issues to an undersheriff, he said, but they were “not resolved.”
Later in 2024, Corpus approved the arrest of Tapia for suspicion of timecard fraud. But the District Attorney’s Office subsequently exonerated him after it investigated his case.
On Monday, Corpus in a white suit with brown pants sat at her legal team’s table, listening to the various testimonies and at times forwarding notes to or conferring with her lawyers.
Early last week, she gave her testimony, refuting county attorneys’ portrayal of her administration as afflicted with conflicts of interest, retaliation against subordinates and an inappropriate relationship with her then chief of staff – allegations laid out in a 408-page report from a county-commissioned independent investigation late last year.
At one point from the witness stand, Corpus told presiding Judge James Emerson, “This is a hearing where they’re trying to take my job from me.”
Outside the courtroom, Corpus contended that she is being harassed by a change-resistant culture within the Sheriff’s Office.
“To keep the status quo,” she said, those perpetuating that culture “will fight you tooth and nail.”
Others who testified Monday included former sheriff’s Capt. Rebecca Albin. The county’s attorneys portrayed her testimony as another example that spoke to Corpus’ retaliatory conduct.
Albin said in court that she had never had problems with her superiors about posting sheriff’s-related information on Nextdoor, a neighborhood social-media platform, as a way to engage with the community.
But that drastically changed, Albin testified, when in June 2024 she posted on Nextdoor about her impending departure from her sheriff’s role in Half Moon Bay to join the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department.
Shortly after the Nextdoor post, Albin said, her access to the county’s systems was revoked. On her last day of work for the sheriff’s following a scheduled vacation, Albin said, she could not enter her office using her code but was let in by an employee.
Albin testified that an undersheriff asked who gave her permission to post and told her Corpus was upset about the social-media announcement.
Albin said in court that the situation confused her because her intention to leave the sheriff’s was no secret. Albin testified that she told Corpus several weeks prior about her plan to depart, for instance.
“It was horrible,” Albin said of the ending to her time with the sheriff’s, choking up on the stand. “I had an unblemished career. Leaving like that … made me feel empty.”
During cross examination by Corpus’ counsel, Albin was asked if she had supported the previous sheriff, Carlos Bolanos.
“He was my sheriff,” Albin replied. “Yes.”
Once Corpus’ hearing ends, the judge has up to 45 days to determine whether there is cause to relieve Corpus of her command. Supervisors then have 30 days to make their final decision on whether to fire her.
Bay City News Service contributed to this report.
