San Jose mayor calls for resignation of Santa Clara County sheriff

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

San Jose mayor calls for Santa Clara Co. sheriff to resign

The mayor made the announcement Monday morning in San Jose.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is calling for the resignation of Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith.

Mayor Liccardo is the first elected official to do so. He made the announcement during a press conference Monday morning, citing bribery, a "pay to play" culture and a mandate requiring officers outside the sheriff's department to turn off their body cameras when transporting suspects to the jail.

The mayor's office listed the following reasons for calling on Sheriff Smith to resign:

Repeated severe beatings of inmates resulting in death and serious injury
Repeated concealment of facts relating to those incidents, and persistent noncompliance with independent oversight
Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars paid to litigants for civil rights violations by deputies under Sheriff Smith's watch
Two consent decrees resulting in $450 million in public expenditure to improve jail operations and conditions
An ongoing bribery criminal investigation which has resulted in three indictments of two of her top aides and a campaign fundraiser
A play-to-pay scandal relating to $300,000 in union contributions for her 2018 re-election.

WATCH: San Jose mayor calls for Sheriff Laurie Smith's resignation

San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is calling for the resignation of Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith over inmate deaths and an ongoing bribery criminal investigation.

Related stories and videos:

Report a correction or typo