Jerry Threet

Jerry Threet is a solo attorney in private practice, following a long and varied career in law and public service. Mr. Threet's practice focuses on issues of police oversight and accountability, public records and transparency, consumer and tenant protections, employee discrimination, and wage theft.

During his career, Mr. Threet has personally conducted hundreds of investigations, depositions, witness interviews, factual evaluations, negotiations, and community meetings, and has significant personal experience working with diverse populations. From 2016 – 2019, he established the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach and served as Director. IOLERO is the first civilian oversight body established in Sonoma County, following the killing of 13-year-old Andy Lopez in 2013 by a deputy sheriff. In 2018, the county settled a federal lawsuit over Andy’s shooting for $3 Million.

At IOLERO, Mr. Threet created systems and protocols necessary for the office to achieve its main missions: audit investigations of alleged deputy misconduct; review and recommend improvements to policies, practices, and training; and community engagement, both directly and through a Community Advisory Council. Mr. Threet completed over 50 audits of investigations, including complex officer involved shootings, and a mass use of force incident in the jail. Mr. Threet authored 2 Annual Reports; plus a report recommending limits on cooperation with federal immigration enforcement; and one recommending improvements to the Sheriff’s misconduct investigations. Mr. Threet engaged over 2000 community members during his tenure, including a healing circle between deputies and undocumented immigrants, and a focus group with homeless individuals.

Mr. Threet's past experience includes 11 years as a Deputy City Attorney for the City of San Francisco. Among his duties in that position were working in the Neighborhood & Resident Safety Division, the Affirmative Litigation Task Force, and as General Counsel to the Sunshine Task Force. His experience included extensive litigation protecting consumers, residents, employees, and businesses from illegal business practices; educating and engaging in outreach to community groups, and helping ensure that county departments complied with state and local government transparency laws. In his litigation work at the City Attorney’s Office, he worked regularly with police officers, as well as low-income people living in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco.

In 2000, Mr. Threet managed the successful political campaign of a neighborhood activist, helping elect Jake McGoldrick county supervisor for the Richmond District of San Francisco by unseating a well-financed incumbent. From 2001-2004, he served as Supervisor McGoldrick's chief of staff. During this time, Mr. Threet's projects included a charter amendment establishing a county performance auditor to ensure that county programs were effective in serving the public; a charter amendment making the police commission more responsive to residents; and implementing a community driven process for county budgeting decisions. Before 2000, he worked as a legislative aide in the Texas State Senate; completed a legal clerkship with the presiding judge of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; and served as a Litigation Attorney with the US Department of Justice, and as a contract attorney with the Northern California U.S. Attorney’s Office (then led by Robert Mueller). In these roles, he worked on class action discrimination litigation, as well as on the prosecution of a multi-state, criminal conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and commit murder.

Jerry also has served in a volunteer capacity as the President of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club, the Chair of the Board of the Housing Rights Committee of SF, a member of the Berkeley Public Works Commission, and as a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for HOME Sonoma County (the County's governing board for homeless issues).