Overview

• The Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to remove Christina Corpus effective immediately, marking the first time a county in California has removed a sitting sheriff.
• Retired Judge James Emerson, after a 10-day hearing, found conflicts involving Victor Aenlle, an unlawful arrest of union leader Carlos Tapia, and retaliation against a captain.
• The authority to remove the sheriff came from Measure A, approved by 84% of voters in March, following independent probes by LaDoris Cordell and Keker, Van Nest & Peters alleging abuses of authority.
• Undersheriff Dan Perea is now discharging sheriff duties, and the board must appoint a replacement or call a special election within 30 days.
• Corpus denies wrongdoing, calls the process politically driven, and plans further court challenges after the state Attorney General declined to intervene due to pending litigation.