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Former Mountain View police chief Chris Hsiung is returning to his post as San Mateo County’s undersheriff, a job he held until leaving in 2024 during the controversial tenure of Christina Corpus, who was ultimately ousted as the sheriff last month.
San Mateo County’s newly sworn in sheriff, Ken Binder, reappointed Hsiung as undersheriff on Monday, Nov. 24. Hsiung’s temporary appointment is slated to last about eight months, during which time he is expected to help with “organizational healing, leadership development and operational excellence,” according to a Sheriff’s Office press release.
“I’m thrilled that Chris Hsiung is coming back to serve as undersheriff,” Binder said in the press release. “Not only is Undersheriff Hsiung a respected law enforcement leader, but he brings a deep understanding of the Sheriff’s Office and a genuine commitment to the men and women who work here.”
Binder and Hsiung have worked together in the past, crossing paths while Binder was serving as Santa Clara County undersheriff and Hsiung was leading the Mountain View police department, Hsiung told this publication. Both men are already familiar with each other’s leadership styles, which Hsiung described as being very similar.
“We are what you would call ‘servant-minded leaders,’ meaning our philosophy of leadership is that it’s our responsibility as leaders to actually serve those that we lead [and] create the cultures that they can thrive under,” Hsiung said.
Hsiung decided to leave the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office in June 2024 after less than two years as undersheriff. In an interview this week, Hsiung cited leadership style conflicts with former Sheriff Corpus as a main reason for his departure. He added that it was one of the most difficult decisions he had ever made because while he no longer felt effective in his role, he still felt like he was turning his back on the people that he served.
Before coming to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office in February 2023, Hsiung worked with the Mountain View Police Department from 1995 to 2023, serving as chief for his last two years. During his nearly three decades with the department, Hsiung worked in every single division, including investigative and tactical, the Voice previously reported.
Many of the chiefs he worked under, specifically Max Bosel and Scott Vermeer, positively impacted his career while he was still growing up in the industry, he said this week. As Hsiung put it, he was “baked in Mountain View,” and what the community sees of him today are the effects of that.
Returning to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office
On his first day back in the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Hsiung made the rounds, greeting many of his former colleagues and reacquainting himself with some of the office systems and operations. While in this role, Hsiung said that he wants to help run the organization as professionally, ethically and smoothly as possible.
Hsiung is filling the vacancy left by former Undersheriff Dan Perea, who announced his departure from the office the same day that Binder was selected by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to become the next sheriff.
Binder’s appointment came one year after the county released an independent investigation into Corpus’ leadership. The report accused her of having an inappropriate relationship with her chief of staff and fostering a culture of intimidation and retaliation in the Sheriff’s Office.
The County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to oust Corpus at a special meeting on Oct. 14, about eight months after 84% of voters approved Measure A, a charter amendment that granted the board the power to remove the elected sheriff.
When Binder was appointed as the new sheriff on Nov. 12, he told the board that he was “excited to lead and move the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office forward.” He is expected to serve the remainder of Corpus’ term, which expires at the end of 2028.
Hsiung similarly emphasized that he’s excited to be with the Sheriff’s Office again, noting that he loves the people who work there and their sense of duty. He also said that he wanted to leave the past behind, commending deputies and other staff for their continued dedication to the community amidst the controversy that shrouded the Sheriff’s Office for more than a year.
“Think about how much the office has been through over the past year, but yet, at the street level, the service that the community has been receiving has been stellar,” Hsiung said. “That’s a huge testament to the women and men here.”
The atmosphere in the office feels different than it did last year, Hsiung said, with people telling him that they are already sleeping better and hearing laughter fill the hallways. He said that he feels privileged to already have the trust of many of the people at the Sheriff’s Office.
While he was away, Hsiung focused on leading an organization that he helped found called The Curve, which aims to modernize policing practices and transform police culture. To accommodate his new position, Hsiung is taking a temporary leave of absence from his role as executive director of the non-profit, but he is expected to return after finishing his work with the Sheriff’s Office, the press release said.
During his hiatus, he also became a Peace Officer Standards and Training instructor for those in the upper ranks, such as deputy chiefs, police chiefs and sheriffs. He said that he plans to bring the leadership skills he has gained from these experiences to his temporary position as undersheriff.
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