20 Women Sue San Francisco Sheriff Over Mass Strip Search Allegedly Recorded on Body Cameras at County Jail

Lawsuit filed today on the one-year anniversary of the alleged search. Vigil for survivors at noon today at San Francisco County Jail No. 2.

This is not going away. This is not going to be slipped under the rug. We are not asking for apologies. We are asking for change.”

— Elizabeth Bertolino, Lead Counsel

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, UNITED STATES, May 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Bertolino Law, PC and The Veen Firm today filed a federal class action in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of twenty women detained at San Francisco County Jail No. 2. Defendants include the City and County of San Francisco, the Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, and individual deputies.

The complaint alleges that a mass strip search conducted on May 22, 2025 was part of a coordinated, supervisor-authorized pattern of suspicionless searches imposed on women in custody before, during, and after that day.

According to court documents, approximately twelve Sheriff’s deputies, including male deputies, entered B Pod, the women’s housing unit at 425 7th Street. The complaint alleges the deputies ordered every woman into the common area under armed supervision and directed them one by one to disrobe and submit to a visual body-cavity inspection, with male deputies positioned with sightlines into the search area.

The complaint alleges body-worn cameras were activated during the searches, in alleged violation of the Sheriff’s Office’s own policy. According to court documents, when a deputy asked the supervising sergeant whether to deactivate her camera, the sergeant told her no. The complaint alleges the sergeant told women the footage might be “used for training purposes,” was “just like YouTube” and “just like Cops,” and that their genitalia would be “blurred” before public release.

The complaint also alleges menstruating women were required to remove sanitary products without replacements, women who filed grievances were placed in administrative segregation, and allegedly invasive searches continued in the months following May 22.

“This is not going away. This is not going to be slipped under the rug. We are not asking for apologies. We are asking for change,” said Elizabeth Bertolino of Bertolino Law, PC, lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “Despite their fear, despite the retaliation, despite the fact they have to be in the very county jail with the perpetrators who did this, they still are speaking out.”

The complaint brings federal claims under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 for alleged violations of the Fourth, Fourteenth, and First Amendments, and California state claims including the Bane Act, Gender Violence Act, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Plaintiffs demand a jury trial.
“The Sheriff’s Office has written policies that forbid male staff during women’s strip searches and forbid body cameras during them,” said Anthony Label, a partner at The Veen Firm, LLP and co-counsel. “The complaint alleges both rules were violated on May 22.”

Today, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., All of Us or None will host a vigil for survivors at County Jail No. 2, 425 7th Street. Counsel from Bertolino Law and The Veen Firm will be on site for interviews.

Case caption: Sahagun Lopez, et al. v. City and County of San Francisco, et al., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
The allegations are allegations only and have not been proven in court.

About Bertolino Law, PC
Bertolino Law, PC is a San Francisco civil rights and personal injury law firm.

About The Veen Firm, LLP
For more than 50 years, The Veen Firm, LLP has represented individuals in catastrophic injury and civil rights cases.

Case Number
3:26-cv-04854

Media Contact

The Veen Firm: info (at) veenfirm (dot) com, +1 (510) 560-6731

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