The new sheriff of San Mateo County, Christina Corpus, has picked a long-time former San Mateo police officer, Ryan Monaghan, to serve as her assistant sheriff.
He’s the second veteran officer she has hired. Earlier she announced that 23-year Mountaid View police veteran Chris Hsiung, the chief of that department, will become her undersheriff.
Since April 2021, Monaghan has been chief of the Tiburon department, which has been the subject of a racial profiling lawsuit that drew national attention. Monaghan arrived in Tiburon after the incident leading to the lawsuit.
In August 2020, Tiburon clothing store owners Yema Khalif and his wife Hawi Awash were working late at night when police approached the store and demanded that the couple prove they were the owners. The situation was dif. fused when a white neighbor yelled to police that it was, indoed, their store. In April 2022, Tiburon agroed to pay the couple $150,000 and make substantial changes in the police department, such as increasing the frequency of racial bias training.
Before he became Tiburon chief, Monaghan was a lieutenant with the San Matco Police Department, most recently serving watch commander for patrol officers. He also has experience in inves-tigations, SWAT and the counter-terrorism assault team.
Corpus, who defeated incumbent Carlos Bolanos last year, officially became sheriff on Saturday. Between the election and Saturday, she had been using a “transition team” consisting of a former jail captain, a public relations expert and a realtor to find people to replace Bolanos’ top managers. The transition team was “unheard of” by County Manager Mike Callagy. Prior to her election, Corpus was a captain in Boloanos’ department, overseeing law enforcement in Millbrae.
The government salary website Transparent California says Bolanos had three assistant sheriffs, Mark Duri, Delfina Zamora and Ed Wood, who made between $255,019 and $266,952 ($394,327 to $555,005 including benefits) in 2021.
In 2021, Undersheriff Mark Robbins made $290,782 ($565,194 including benefits).
