Paul M. Miyamoto
Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, the first Asian American sheriff elected in San Francisco's 173-year history, assumed office on January 8, 2020. A fourth-generation San Franciscan, he joined the Sheriff’s Office in 1996 and swiftly ascended through the ranks, working in jails, patrol, investigations, training, and as a member of the Sheriff’s Office’s Emergency Services Unit and Special Response Team. As the Sheriff, he oversees San Francisco’s jails, as well as key buildings such as the City’s courts, hospitals, and City Hall.
Under his leadership, Deputies are deployed for Operation Safe Streets, to patrol and make arrests in parts of the City overrun with illegal drug activity. As head of one of the nation's most diverse Sheriff's departments, Miyamoto introduced a bilingual nameplate program, a first for emergency responders in the City.
Sheriff Miyamoto remains committed to protecting the rights of the incarcerated, and providing opportunities to change. Under his direction, people in jail have also had access to free tablets, free commissary items, video visits where no Internet infrastructure existed before, and free phone calls.
Throughout the pandemic, the Sheriff collaborated with the City’s justice partners to safely lower the jail count and reduce the risk of COVID among the most vulnerable custodies, ensuring zero COVID hospitalizations or deaths in San Francisco County Jail. As a testament to his proactive approach, Sheriff Miyamoto closed the seismically unsafe County Jail #4 at the Hall of Justice in September, two months ahead of schedule. Throughout his career, he has fostered strong partnerships with other City agencies, serving on the boards of the National Association of Asian American Professionals, Guardians of the City, and the Five Keys Charter School.
Sheriff Miyamoto, a graduate of Lowell High School and the University of California, Davis, carries a family legacy of resilience. Inspired by his late father and extended family's triumph over adversity during the Japanese internment in World War II, he credits his success to the values instilled by his family.
The sheriff is equally proud of his Chinese roots, inherited from his mother, and has been a dedicated member of the San Francisco Police Department Lion Dance team for the Chinese New Year Parade since 2000. He participates in San Francisco’s annual Pistahan Parade every year, honoring his wife Leann and their children’s Filipino heritage. He and LeeAnn, a former San Francisco deputy and police officer, have been married for more than 23 years, and have five children, including triplets!