A crowd of civil rights activists rallied outside a San Francisco County Jail on Friday after 20 women filed a federal lawsuit accusing deputies in the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office of conducting an illegal strip search inside a women’s jail unit last year.
“We are here for, today, the women who were in this jail behind us, whose rights were violated when they were mass strip searched by sheriff’s deputies one year ago,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju in a speech.
On May 22, 2025, 12 deputies entered a pod of the women’s jail unit and directed numerous inmates in a common area to remove their clothing, lift their breasts, spread their buttocks, squat and cough, according to the complaint filed in the lawsuit.
Deputies, some of whom were men, allegedly activated their body-worn cameras. One deputy apparently asked a sergeant whether to deactivate her camera, to which the sergeant allegedly replied no and said that the footage could be used for training purposes and that it was “just like ‘Cops,'” according to the complaint, referring to a reality television show that films day-to-day operations of law enforcement across the country.
Male deputies were accused of laughing and joking during the strip search and watched as it took place.
Women who were menstruating were forced to remove their tampons and pads without replacements, the complaint alleges. Inmates who filed grievances over the search were retaliated against by being placed in administrative segregation or removed from work assignments, according to the complaint.
The legal battle and policy violations
Taylor Ross, a former inmate who was a part of the strip search, reflected on what happened.
“It’s just all men and they have to watch you,” Ross said in a speech. “You can’t say no. So to not have a voice and to be put in this type of position and situation, it was very uncomfortable.”
You can’t say no. So to not have a voice and to be put in this type of position and situation, it was very uncomfortable.
Taylor Ross, former inmate
One year later, attorneys from the offices of Bertolino Law and the Veen Firm filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The City and County of San Francisco, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, and several members of the Sheriff’s Office were named as defendants in the suit.
“I am so proud to represent these women,” said attorney Elizabeth Bertolino at the rally. “This isn’t going away.”
Sheriff’s Office policy states that strip searches “shall be conducted in a private location, such that persons not participating in the search cannot observe the person being searched,” according to section 514.4 of the Custody and Court Operations Policy Manual of the Sheriff’s Office.
It also states that all employees present during the strip search “shall be of the same gender identity as the person being searched.”
Official responses and demands for accountability
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tara Moriarty said in an emailed statement that “male deputies did not strip search female inmates at County Jail 2” and that the “female inmates who were strip searched were searched individually in a private setting.”
The San Francisco Department of Police Accountability, an agency that investigates complaints against law enforcement, completed its investigation into the strip search and concluded that its findings were consistent with the Sheriff’s Office initial review.
Rally organizers read multiple statements from some of the women who were a part of the search. A letter was read on behalf of Marilyn Sahagun-Lopez, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit who has accused a deputy of sexually assaulting her during the mass strip search.
“I’ve been in the dark for years now, not just physically, but mentally also,” the letter reads. “You would think these people are put here to watch over us and to protect us, but some are just here to break us down, prey upon the vulnerable, and make time harder than what it already is.”
You would think these people are put here to watch over us and to protect us, but some are just here to break us down, prey upon the vulnerable, and make time harder than what it already is.”
Marilyn Sahagun-Lopez, lawsuit plaintiff
Moriarty also denied allegations that strip searches are sometimes conducted as a form of retaliation against inmates, saying that they are done to prevent the flow of contraband into the jails. Moriarty did not say if any contraband was found during the search.
The San Francisco City Attorney’s Office said in a statement that it will respond to the allegations in court.
“We want accountability,” Ross said. “We don’t want to just hear what you did, we want to see the change, we want to feel it, and we want it to be shown.”
