Women in San Francisco jail say deputies filmed humiliating mass strip-search in view of male officers

A group of female prisoners in San Francisco has said that officers from the sheriff’s department filmed them during a large‐scale strip search, with male officials standing nearby, laughing, and suggesting that the footage would be posted online.

Almost twenty women allege that on May 22 the sheriff’s deputies forced them to remove all clothing in the county jail. The accusations, gathered by the San Francisco Public Defender’s office and reported here, describe male deputies watching as body‑camera footage rolled and making jokes at the expense of the inmates.

“There was zero privacy,” the complaint states, noting that many of the strip‑searches were carried out before prison employees and other prisoners could see them.

“One deputy…reportedly taunted the women that the videos would be posted online…None of the women were provided clean clothing after the search,” the document also notes. The statements were compiled from the experiences of 18 alleged victims.

San Francisco Public Defender Manohar Raju denounced the alleged disrespect in a press conference outside the jail on Monday.

“What these women endured in this mass strip search and the harassment that continued afterwards is unacceptable and unjust,” Raju said, a quote relayed by KRON 4.

San Francisco Assistant Sheriff Tanzanika Carter confirmed that a group strip‑search indeed took place, adding that the procedures were supposedly carried out individually in private spaces. She did not confirm the specific humiliating details supplied by the women, but said the department had taken “personnel action” in response to the complaint.

According to interviews with inmates and attorneys by Mission Local, the prisoners were confronted by a squad of armed deputies who entered the unit with shouting orders to vacate their beds. The deputies are alleged to have held the women in handcuffs and moved them to various parts of the cellblock that were visible to guards and other inmates while forcing them to strip.

“They lifted our arms, under our breasts,” one woman told Mission Local, recalling deputies “giggling and laughing.” “It was out there in the open, and it was just very uncomfortable…There were several of us taking off our clothes at the same time,” another added, noting she had been taken to a shower facility.

The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office maintains that strip searches should occur out of sight from anyone not involved and that no male staff should be present when women are searched.

A private attorney representing the complainants said the city has 45 days to respond to the allegations, per ABC 7.

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