Numerous women who were detained in the San Francisco County Jail have accused the department of violating their rights after being subjected to a mass strip search that prosecutors said were used “for training” purposes.

Nearly 20 women have accused the San Francisco sheriff’s office of forcing them to strip naked in the county jail on May 22, 2025, and times before and after that date, while male deputies watched and cracked jokes.

The federal class action lawsuit was filed Friday in the United States District Court for Northern District of California. The suit was filed against the city and county of San Francisco, the SF County Sheriff’s Department, SF County Sheriff and several members of the department, per the complaint obtained by The Post.

The women alleged that while they were detained in the county jail, they were subjected to strip searches in front of male deputies who allegedly taunted and filmed them. Prosecutors claimed that this was not by accident and “it was deliberate,” per the complaint.

The plaintiffs include women who were strip-searched before May 22, women who were strip-searched during the mass operation on May 22, and women who were subjected to “suspicionless post-movement strip searches in the months that followed,” the complaint read.

The women claimed they were not only forced to strip naked in front of other women but that this also allegedly occurred while deputies wore body-worn cameras and recorded the searches.

“Multiple plaintiffs heard Sergeant Ibarra, the supervising officer, explicitly instruct Deputy Dockery not to deactivate her body-worn camera during the searches,” per the complaint.

“When Dockery asked whether she should turn her camera off, Ibarra said no. Ibarra later told detainees the footage might be ‘used for training purposes.’”

The complaint goes on to allege that Ibarra “told women the footage was similar to what they ‘see on YouTube’ and was ‘just like ‘Cops’” the TV show.

The San Francisco Sheriff’s Office (SFSO) states that strip searches must be conducted outside the view of anyone not involved and that no male staff are present when women are searched.

The suit also claimed that when various women either complained or filed grievances about the strip searches they were allegedly retaliated against. 

“After plaintiffs LaSonya Wells and Alexcis Herrera organized other women to file tort claims, both were placed in segregation within a week,” the complaint read.

“Sergeant Ibarra directly threatened continued strip searches in November 2025 unless women ceased what he called ‘disrespecting deputies.’”

The suit was filed by attorney’s: Elizabeth Bertolino, Molly Ryan, Anthony Label, and Michael Christian.

Speaking to Mission Local in November, one of the women allegedly subjected to the strip searches talked about the trauma she still feels from it.

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“I’m still having nightmares about it,” one of the women told the outlet.

In November, the SFSO issued a statement that “appropriate personnel action was taken” following the numerous allegations.

“The conduct described is deeply concerning and does not reflect the policies, procedures, or professional standards we require of our staff,” the department told KTVU. 

“We want to acknowledge the women who came forward. Every complaint raised within our facilities is taken seriously, and we remain committed to ensuring that all individuals in our care are treated with dignity, respect, and in full accordance with our policies and procedures.”

The women are seeking “compensatory damages for all constitutional and statutory violations” from things such as alleged emotional distress, trauma, physical injuries, loss of work assignments, etc, per the complaint.

The Post reached out to the San Francisco County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.

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