The current president of the Sheriff’s Oversight Board has faced multiple allegations of violence against women, and he’s now accused of pressuring a woman into sex while plying her with drugs during a mental health crisis last month, and SF officials want him removed.

The 26-year-old woman says she spent five days with William Palmer in early July after leaving her family’s home without money or a cellphone, and they reported her missing. As the Chronicle reports, she said she encountered him near the 24th Street Mission BART Station plaza while she was using fentanyl with strangers, and Palmer was parked nearby in his red BMW convertible. According to her account, he offered her methamphetamine and fentanyl before driving her to his apartment near Duboce Park.

The woman told the Chronicle that she and Palmer had sex, and that she was unsure whether she had consented as she was in a vulnerable state and felt pressured. The woman's mother said she suffers from "profound" mental health challenges that limit her ability to consent.

The woman also said she overdosed on fentanyl at Palmer’s apartment, which was supplied by his female friend, and Palmer later told her he had revived her. Palmer reportedly declined to say whether he had sex with her or provided her with drugs, instead describing himself as a “life coach” who was trying to help her.

“I’m her life coach,” Palmer told the Chronicle. “I talked to her and told her the things that she needed to hear to snap out of the lifestyle she was in and to get into the life that she wants to be in.”

On July 7, her mother learned that she was at an art studio near Market and Sixth streets and called 911. SFPD officers found the woman with Palmer as they left the studio, detained both of them, and placed the woman on an involuntary psychiatric hold. 

Police said they found no evidence at the scene that Palmer had committed a crime and released him, according to the Chronicle.

The woman reportedly spent about four weeks in emergency psychiatric treatment. Palmer later tried to visit her at the hospital, saying he sought access in his capacity as president of the oversight board, but was turned away. He also sent her Instagram messages looking for her.

SFPD’s Special Victims Unit is now investigating the incident and has interviewed the woman. Palmer has not been arrested or charged.

“I’m very upset,” the woman’s mother tells the Chronicle. “I feel that San Francisco, the mayor, they need to do something about this. This is definitely a safety concern for all its citizens, especially women who are vulnerable. That is very, very concerning.”

Palmer has faced several allegations involving violence and sexual misconduct in recent years, as previously reported. In 2023, he was charged with raping a woman he picked up near the Mission District BART station, but prosecutors dismissed the case in 2024 over concerns about the alleged victim’s credibility. He was also arrested last year on suspicion of domestic battery and false imprisonment in an incident police described as a possible attempted sexual assault, though no charges were filed. 

In May, the Chronicle reported that four women had accused Palmer of violence during his time on the oversight board, while a fifth obtained a restraining order against him. Palmer has denied wrongdoing in the various incidents.

The new allegations have reportedly prompted Supervisor Stephen Sherrill to move forward with an effort to remove Palmer from the oversight board. Sherrill called for an investigation into whether Palmer committed official misconduct in late June, and said Thursday that he hopes to begin the removal process within weeks, per the Chronicle.

“The question is not should he be removed,” Sherrill said. “It’s more about how do we remove this person from a position of power in the quickest way possible.”

Mayor Daniel Lurie has also called for misconduct proceedings against Palmer, saying it is “unacceptable” that someone accused of such behavior remains in a position of public trust. Lurie has pointed to Proposition F, which will appear on the November ballot, as a way to give the mayor and Board of Supervisors more authority to remove certain board and commission appointees without cause, per the Chronicle.

According to the Chronicle, under current rules, removing Palmer for misconduct requires multiple votes by the Board of Supervisors and a hearing before the San Francisco Ethics Commission. Palmer has rejected calls for his resignation and said he plans to serve out his term, which ends next March.

“Allegations don’t remove people from the board,” Palmer said. “So go through the process and let the chips fall where they may.”

Previously: SF Jail Oversight Leader Faces Allegations of Violence Against Women, Multiple Parole Violations