SF CHRONICLE: CITY COMMISSIONER ACCUSED OF SUPPLYING METH, COERCING WOMAN INTO SEX AS SHE OVERDOSED ON FENTANYL — BUT CITY CAN’T IMMEDIATELY REMOVE HIM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 21, 2026

Contact: press@cleanupcityhall.org

New report underscores need for Prop F so public officials aren’t shielded from accountability

SAN FRANCISCO — As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle today, William Palmer, president of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board, is under investigation over allegations that he supplied a woman in a mental health crisis with methamphetamine and coerced her into sex, and used his official title to try to gain access to her at San Francisco General Hospital. The allegations follow accusations against Palmer by multiple women of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking and other physical violence, as well as separate allegations that he misused his public position for personal benefit and improperly obtained thousands of dollars in city parking and towing waivers intended for homeless or low-income residents. Despite the mounting, serious allegations facing Palmer, he can only be removed by the city following a lengthy, convoluted process enshrined in the city’s charter.

"Our broken and corrupt system was created by insiders to protect insiders," said Mayor Daniel Lurie. "San Franciscans deserve a government where responsibility is clear, accountability is real, and the people entrusted to serve this city are held to the highest standards. This November we’re going to change it to end the excuses and deliver accountability and results.” 

According to the Chronicle, the 26-year-old woman was in an acute mental health and drug crisis when Palmer picked her up off the street — a condition Palmer himself described by saying she was a “zombie.” She was reported missing by her family and spent five days at Palmer’s apartment, where she alleges that he supplied her with methamphetamine and that they had sex four times over those five days; she says she felt pressured and was too impaired to know whether she was consenting. During the stay, she overdosed on fentanyl in his apartment but was revived. After police found her with Palmer and placed her on an involuntary psychiatric hold, Palmer acknowledged trying to use his official title to gain access to her at San Francisco General. SFPD’s Special Victims Unit is investigating the incident. 

"Someone in a position of power who displays this type of behavior is dangerous to the city's most vulnerable,” said Beverly Upton, Executive Director of the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium. 

The Chronicle reported that Palmer was also charged in 2023 with raping a woman he picked up near a BART station; prosecutors later dismissed the case, citing concerns about the alleged victim's credibility. He was arrested again last August at his apartment on suspicion of domestic battery and false imprisonment, in an incident police described as a possible attempted sexual assault; no charges were filed. 

In addition, the broader Chronicle investigation found a pattern of Palmer leveraging his official title for personal benefit. He accumulated nearly $10,000 in parking tickets in the same BMW he used to drive the woman to his apartment. During a traffic stop, he invoked his city title to question why he was pulled over, conduct that city law prohibits.

Currently, Palmer, a Board of Supervisors appointee, can only be removed for “official misconduct,” a high threshold that involves a lengthy process to prove he misbehaved in his official capacity. The last time San Francisco tried removing an official on such grounds was in 2012, when then-Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi faced allegations of domestic violence. The effort failed.

This November, San Franciscans will vote on Mayor Lurie’s Clean Up City Hall measures to make government more accountable and effective. Prop F would create clearer lines of accountability across City Hall by giving the mayor greater authority to hire and fire department heads, and by allowing appointing authorities–including the mayor and the Board of Supervisors–to remove the commissioners they appoint. The measure would replace a fragmented system that too often makes it difficult to determine who is responsible and even harder to hold them accountable. 

To learn more about the effort to make San Francisco’s government more accountable, click HERE.

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