Annie Tsai

When then Mountain View Police Chief Chris Hsiung was recruited to be San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus’ Undersheriff in early 2023, I was excited for our county. He had spent nearly three decades serving on the police force in Mountain View, CA and along the way became an industry case study for how to successfully leverage social media to connect with the community. It felt like a great fit for the story being told of change, trust, and connection with the people that the County Sheriff’s Office was charged with protecting and serving and yet somehow had continued to miss the mark on for the past few decades. 

I’m sure that I wasn’t the only one whose ears perked upon hearing about Hsiung’s abrupt unexplained departure a little over a year after joining Sheriff Corpus’ executive staff. There had been rumblings of complaints and investigations for months, but only very recently did the public get a clearer picture of what actually happened. Just last week, the 400-page report from retired Santa Clara Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell’s independent investigation was released to the public largely unredacted and resulted in a County Board of Supervisors 5-0 vote of no confidence in Sheriff Corpus. It’s worth a read. 

Of course, the opportunity for Hsiung to work alongside Simon Sinek and inspire the transformation of policing culture and leadership more broadly through The Curve is something to leap towards. A 501(c)3 non-profit founded in 2020 by active duty police chiefs across the United States, The Curve sets out to modernize policing leadership culture. As one of the founding police chiefs, Hsiung has now formally stepped into the organization’s leadership as executive director. It is an example of an incredibly challenging time laying the groundwork for finding one’s calling. 

As for the County Sheriff’s Office, losing a reported 126 employees of 800 in under two years – including both its number two in command Undersheriff and number three in command Assistant Sheriff, two highly regarded local veterans in law enforcement – is a devastating blow to any organization’s capacity, infrastructure, and culture. It’s also worth noting that due to the nature and timing of Assistant Sheriff Ryan Monaghan’s firing as potential retaliation for him agreeing to be interviewed by Judge Cordell, the county has retained him on payroll and not processed the termination. 

The foundation of Judge Cordell’s investigative findings include sustained allegations of an improper relationship leading to conflicts of interest among several other things. In reading Judge Cordell’s report, I found what very much looked to be a story of sordid love threaded from beginning to end. From reporting to work at the Millbrae substation in the same clothes from the night before, to sworn testimony accounts of backrubs behind the desk at work, to recounted quotes about not knowing what she would do without Victor, to being spotted in Hawaii with Corpus’ child, to messages over Signal about potential wedding sites – it is the stuff of fiction that one might expect to see on Netflix’s top 10 list for the week. Have Netflix executives already come knocking on San Mateo County’s doors for its next docudrama?

But it’s not fiction, and we need to remember that our pop culture fascination with love, power, and dysfunction cannot discount its incredibly disruptive impact on everyday lives. Through all of this, insiders have described watching this dysfunction spill out into the public eye as nothing short of heartbreaking for those who have stayed on and tried to continue to perform their sworn duties on a day to day basis. These are the people who our community needs to be supporting right now and through the conclusion of this very messy story. 

It cannot be understated, but in these situations quick, objective, empathetic, and decisive change with open and honest dialogue and leadership are necessary first steps to rebuilding trust. Closed doors and refusals to engage cannot be what a leader is remembered for. From the swift actions taken by the Board of Supervisors, as recommended by Supervisors Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller, County leadership is attempting to move forward as quickly as possible. Just yesterday, our state and federal elected representatives called for Corpus to step down. I’m sure there are many who fall into this camp, but my sincere hope is that this critically important organization in San Mateo County is able to rebuild the culture from inside-out – our community needs it. 

So how does the story end? Only time will tell – in reality this is really just the beginning. As with any good story, it is told in three parts, and it very much feels like we have just wrapped up book one. First there is the heat. Then there is the unraveling. Then finally, there is the dawn.