A San Francisco official accused by several women of violence and sexual abuse committed “official misconduct” when he repeatedly misused his position and title for private gain, according to a city investigation released Friday that could lead to his ouster.
The investigation, launched by Inspector General Alex Shepard in response to reporting by the Chronicle, found that William Palmer, the outgoing president of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board, violated city ethics laws 14 times in connection with two incidents since December, including by using his position for personal benefit.
Palmer has served on the oversight panel since the Board of Supervisors appointed him in 2021. A former inmate who spent most of his life in prison for a crime he committed as a teenager, he positioned himself as a voice for formerly incarcerated people on the board, which seeks to monitor jail conditions and hold sheriff’s deputies accountable…