Just 14 months after the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office asked a judge to dismiss five counts, including sodomy, false imprisonment, and sexual battery by restraint, against current San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board president William Monroe “Tariq” Palmer II, citing “lack of evidence,” he was arrested at his home for false imprisonment and battery on a cohabitant or spouse. According to court records, the district attorney also dismissed the new charges.
The Voice obtained case transcripts and public records that depict Palmer as violent toward women and sexually exploitive of both women and children, going back to his years as a troubled teen.
In 1986, when Palmer was 15, his mother operated a daycare out of their home where she fostered troubled youths. Three boys in her care accused Palmer of molesting them, including sodomy. As a result, Palmer was put on probation for committing a 288-felony violation for lewd or lascivious acts with a minor. A condition of his parole was staying away from children.
In 1988, 17-year-old Palmer approached Randy Compton with an unloaded pistol and ordered him to drive to an ATM. It wasn’t Palmer’s lucky day: Compton was an off-duty police officer with a service weapon. When they reached the ATM, Compton pulled out his weapon and fired 15 rounds, hitting Palmer in the knee.
Palmer took a plea bargain for attempted robbery and kidnapping — he was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole. He served 31 years, during which time his only violent offense was a single fight. Palmer was released from prison in 2019 after the California Supreme Court ruled that 23 of those years amounted to “excessive punishment.”
After his release, the parole condition to stay away from minors remained intact. Despite that, Palmer took a job as a financial specialist at Legal Services for Prisoners With Children. He also violated parole several other times.
In May 2020, Palmer was accused of sideswiping a white Mercedes-Benz in a drugstore parking lot, backing his car into the owner, and then leaving the scene. As a result, he was booked for assault with a deadly weapon and for fleeing the scene of an accident.
Additionally, Palmer traveled to multiple countries between 2022 and 2023. In February 2023, he visited a woman named Teresa F. in Portugal where she claimed he became aggressive with her after she refused sex with him. When she refused to help him navigate his car, Teresa F. said he “violently grabbed her hair, scratched her face, and threatened to kill her.” Palmer’s parole officer wrote him up for travel and conduct violations. Palmer insisted that he had “verbal permission” to travel out of the country, which his parole officer denied. Nevertheless, a supervising officer dropped the case.
During a routine check of Palmer’s cell phone, a parole officer found videos Palmer had taken underneath the skirts of girls and women on BART in which he made lewd remarks.
In May 2023, Tatianna L., referred to in the incident report as Palmer’s “dating partner,” told police that during an argument he punched her in the jaw while she was driving. He also threw her phone out the window and took her car keys. When she tried to get her keys back, Palmer “slammed her body into concrete, punched her again, and bit her ear. Once again, his parole officer wrote him up, but no further action by supervising staff was taken.
According to Palmer’s parole reports, incidents regarding sexualization of women and attempts to be around children also persisted. During a routine check of Palmer’s cell phone, a parole officer found videos Palmer had taken underneath the skirts of girls and women on BART in which he made lewd remarks. The officer wrote up a violation and refused to provide another BART pass, instead writing “BART” on a piece of paper and sticking it on Palmer’s bicycle. He also spent two days in jail after his parole officer learned he was involved with United Playaz, a youth violence prevention group, and later tried to set up a T-shirt printing business inside a store providing services to single mothers. Once again, his parole officer made him quit.
Sodomy and assault accusations
A woman referred to in the police report as Lina R. spoke to officers through a Spanish interpreter about an incident she alleged took place late on the night of Aug. 30, 2023. After leaving a bar in the Mission and walking toward a BART station, a man began walking alongside her and offered to give her a ride. The man instead drove her to his apartment and invited her inside, to which she agreed. Once in the apartment, Lina said the suspect became aggressive, shoving her down on the couch and strangling her. When she screamed, he punched her in the mouth and when she tried to push him off, he bit her finger. The suspect eventually agreed to drive Lina to the BART station but after a few minutes she jumped out and ran to 65 Scott Street yelling for help. The suspect followed her in his van, then got out and tried to speak to her, but she yelled at him and called 911, telling the dispatcher, “He’s trying to kill me.” Lina described the suspect to officers as “a light-skinned adult black male with black/brown dreadlocks, a 5 o’clock shadow beard, wearing a green [j]acket and blue pants.” She described the vehicle as a dark grey SUV. An Officer Ballard reported that Lina said the suspect did not try to sexually assault her. Officer Ballard documented dried blood on and below Lina’s lips, a cut to her left ring finger, and redness on her neck. Photographs of the injuries were taken. Medics transported the victim to CPMC Davies Hospital. The officers obtained surveillance video from 65 Scott Street, which captured exactly what Lina had described.
On Aug. 31, 2023, an email was circulated to SFPD with a synopsis of the incident and still photos of the surveillance footage from 65 Scott Street. As a result of the email, Park Station Officer Dagit located a suspect matching the photos who was also near a vehicle matching the photos. Lt. Hurley of Park Station located a report involving 93 Scott Street in which William Palmer was named as the suspect. Officer Dagit viewed Palmer’s mugshot from the May 2023 incident, where he battered his then-girlfriend, and matched it to the man he had seen outside of 93 Scott Street and near the van. Palmer was found to be on parole and Lt. Hurley spoke with an agent who provided information for Palmer, including that his employer was RJOY (Restorative Justice for Oakland). RJOY was the registered owner of the van Officer Dagit located.
A Sgt. Haymond stated that during his conversation with the victim, she said the suspect had also sodomized her without her consent. Lina said she hadn’t told CPMC Davies staff when she was there so no sexual assault exam was done, however she told Sgt. Haymond she would be willing to participate in one.
Utilizing a Spanish interpreter, Sgt. Haymond interviewed Lina, who said she consumed “a couple of beers” on the night of Aug. 30 but did not feel intoxicated at the time of the incident. She confirmed she could recognize the suspect if she saw him again. In addition to the information told to responding officers for the initial report, Lina stated the following occurred on the night of Aug. 30, 2023:
Once inside the apartment, the suspect, now identified as Palmer, went into another room then came back wearing only boxer shorts. Palmer complimented Lina’s body and she realized his penis was erect. He said he wanted to have sex with her and Lina said no. Palmer hit her in the face with his fist and she fell onto the couch where Palmer removed her pants and underwear. He penetrated her anus with his penis, without protection, “slightly and painfully.” Lina screamed loudly and Palmer covered her mouth with a hand. She kicked him and he put both of his hands around her neck and strangled her — when she tried to push him off of her, Palmer bit her finger. Throughout the assault, Palmer repeatedly said, “You are a whore, you must love penis.” Lina said she “begged him not to hurt her or kill her” and promised she would not say anything if he let her go. Palmer then told Lina not to say anything to the police, adding, “I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m going to let you go.”
On Sept. 1, 2023, Park Station officers responded to Lina’s home where she handed them a bag containing the clothing she had worn during the incident. The officers also conducted a photo lineup where Lina only identified Palmer as the suspect. Officers then took Lina to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center for a sexual assault exam.
The report showed Lina made consistent statements to the examiner regarding the assault. It noted injuries including tenderness to front of the neck, petechiae on right cheek, tenderness and swelling to back of head, tenderness behind left ear and back of neck, abrasion with ecchymosis on lower right neck, linear laceration with tenderness on lower left neck, abrasion with tenderness and bleeding on inside of upper lip, abrasion with tenderness to inner lower lip, oozing and swelling on left ring finger, and ecchymosis with tenderness to rear left shoulder. There was also indication of strangulation.
The Forensic Biology Examination Lab Report, received Oct. 6, 2023, noted that “No DNA profiles from this analysis were entered into the FBl’s DNA database because the DNA obtained did not meet “local, state, or national level thresholds.”
‘Built like a linebacker’
When officers first spoke to Palmer by telephone on Oct. 23, 2023, he recalled the August incident as beginning at his apartment on Scott Street where, late at night, he heard a woman outside yelling for help. When he went to investigate, Palmer said he found “a woman he suspected was very intoxicated.” He said the woman was difficult to understand as she mumbled and was potentially speaking a different language. He said the woman was having trouble standing and expressed that she wanted to go to sleep. Palmer said the woman attempted to go into his apartment, but he blocked her from doing so by standing In her path. Eventually she walked away from the porch area of his apartment, and he followed her to see if she needed a ride somewhere. The woman stopped and started screaming, so Palmer went home but did walk back and forth a couple of times to ensure the woman “wasn’t trying to break into anyone’s home.”
Palmer described the woman as in her thirties, possibly Samoan, Tongan, or Hispanic, with dark hair, about his height, and “built like a linebacker.” Palmer said he did not see any injuries to the woman or witness her doing anything that would cause injuries. When told that the woman said she had been in Palmer’s apartment and described the interior, he said she had not but that maybe due to her intoxication she mistook the porch area and bench as inside. He also said the woman was never in his vehicle and that he never assaulted her, physically or sexually. When the officer explained that Palmer was located via camera footage as being associated with the van, he said it was not his van. When the officer explained it was determined to be his employer’s van and that he was in possession of it on that date, Palmer did not dispute it.
After a preliminary hearing on Nov. 30, 2023, the court found there was sufficient evidence for a trial. Just five months later, on April 2, 2024, the district attorney’s office dismissed the case due to “new evidence that could potentially undermine the credibility of the alleged victim, who was the only witness,” according to Assistant District Attorney Katherine Wells. The new evidence was linked to “a similar incident in Chicago” Deputy Public Defender Sylvia Cediel, representing Palmer, said. “The social media records are critical to corroborating or not corroborating the victim’s testimony to this incident,” Wells said of the Chicago incident. Palmer, who had been in jail since the charges were filed, entered Judge Alexandra Robert Gordon’s courtroom smiling before his case was dismissed. “The person made it up, and I’m vindicated,” Palmer stated erroneously. Wells warned the dismissal “should not be taken as proof of Palmer’s innocence and the DA could refile charges against Palmer if new evidence arises.”
Despite the new arrest at his home in August 2025 for false imprisonment and battery of a cohabitant or spouse, Palmer remains free and is now president of the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board. No further investigation has occurred into the August 2023 case, nor has it been refiled. The Voice attempted to reach the victim but was unable to locate her.
