Paul Henderson, head of the Department of Police Accountability during a Police Commission meeting at San Francisco City Hall. A former employee at the department filed a lawsuit against the city, accusing Henderson and others of creating a toxic workplace environment.
Paul Kuroda/Special to The Chronicle
A former attorney at San Francisco’s police watchdog agency sued the city this week, alleging she was fired for blowing the whistle on misconduct inside the agency, including racist remarks, manipulation of police discipline cases and misuse of public funds.
Janelle Caywood’s lawsuit follows complaints in August that she and other staffers lodged that said the agency’s director mishandled layoffs and that other managers engaged in harassment and retaliation. The concerns were first reported by Mission Local.
DPA investigates police shootings and complaints from the public about police misconduct. It also audits the police department and offers policy recommendations to SFPD.
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“I categorically deny the allegations made against me and the department and find them offensive to our reputation and proven history,” DPA Director Paul Henderson said. “The city will respond vigorously to this lawsuit in court.”
“Once we are served, we will review the complaint and respond in court,” Jen Kwart, spokesperson for the city attorney, said in a statement.
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Caywood worked for DPA for seven years before she was fired last August for insubordination, according to her lawsuit. She claimed she was fired after she shed light on alleged workplace misconduct, not because of her work performance.
From the start of her employment, she noticed Henderson “did not follow typical workplace professional norms,” according to the lawsuit. Within her first days on the job, Henderson jokingly gifted hemorrhoid medication to a receptionist during an office holiday party.
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In 2019, Henderson told her about a “sex party” his former partner had participated in and allegedly showed her a photo of a sex toy. In 2023, he “presided” over an in-office drag queen strip-show, encouraging staffers and interns to bring $1 bills.
The suit claims Caywood was reassigned a few times, including in 2024, after she raised concerns that SFPD was not appropriately updating certain policies. Her concerns frustrated SFPD leadership, with whom Henderson was close, according to the lawsuit.
Caywood also claimed in the suit that her former supervisor, Diana Rosenstein, unjustly criticized and undermined the work of Black attorneys. When she told Henderson, he failed to properly respond, according to the lawsuit.
Rosenstein did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2024, Caywood said Rosenstein altered reports that faulted police officers for misconduct and recommended discipline. Caywood reported the alterations, creating further tension between her and her supervisors, according to the suit.
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During an online settlement hearing on a police misconduct case in 2024, after Police Commissioner Don Clay disagreed with Rosenstein about the DPA’s assessment of the charges, Rosenstein allegedly texted Caywood racist remarks about Clay, who is Black, according to the lawsuit. “He and Clarence Thomas can go to hell,” she said, according to the lawsuit. “So disappointing to see a Black man act like this. He should be ashamed.”
Caywood later reported the text messages, leading to a city investigation. The lawsuit did not divulge details about the outcome of the investigation.
Rosenstein resigned in December 2024, with her friends, including Henderon, blaming Caywood for her resignation, according to the lawsuit. Henderson “refused to meaningfully communicate with her from that point,” the suit stated, adding that the environment among other staffers became toxic.
Months later, she wrote to Mayor Daniel Lurie and HR Director Carol Isen requesting that someone interview DPA staff about the toxic environment.
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A day later, she filed a complaint alleging Henderson misappropriated funds to hire, reclassify and give raises to his friends in the office. “Ms. Caywood believed this was unlawful,” according to the lawsuit. When a city auditor interviewed Caywood, she said she provided the auditor with “billing records supporting the complaint.”