William Palmer II biography: 13 things about Riverside, California man

William “Tariq” Monroe Palmer II is an American activist, muralist and spoken word poet based in San Francisco, California, United States. He grew up in Riverside, Riverside County, California.

In October 2020, Palmer joined the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office in San Francisco as a sentencing commission member. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. In 1986, he was kicked out of school in 10th grade and he left home.
2. In 1988, he tried to rob an off-duty police officer by taking him at gunpoint to an automated teller machine. He was arrested, booked into the California State Prison – Solano in Vacaville, Solano County, California, convicted and sentenced to life in prison with a chance for parole. Both of his parents died while he was in prison.
3. In 2007, he earned his associate’s degree in business administration and management from Palo Verde College in Blythe, Riverside County.
4. In 2015, he went before the parole board for the 10th time and was rejected.
5. From August 2017 to February 2018, he was a special event coordinator apprentice at Defy Ventures at CSP-Solano.
6. In March 2019, he was released from CSP-Solano after serving 31 years for a failed robbery-turned-kidnapping. From June 2019 to September 2019, he was a residence service councilor at Community Housing Partnership in San Francisco. From November 2019 to May 2020, he was a security operations specialist at Admiral Security Services in San Francisco.
7. In 2020, he wound up back in jail after a fender-bender. From May 2020 to August 2020, he was a part-time financial support specialist at the Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC) in Oakland, Alameda County, California. In August 2020, he was an LSPC police fellow. From August 2020 to December 2021, he was an LSPC communications fellow.
8. In September 2021, he became a member of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board. In December 2021, he became the executive director of Life After Next in California.
9. In July 2022, he became the editor-in-chief of East County North Star. From November 2022 to March 2023, he was the editor-in-chief of SF Bay View in San Francisco.
10. In May 2023, his term as a member of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board was extended to 2027.
11. On August 30, 2023, he allegedly offered a ride to a woman walking to a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in California, took her to his residence in San Francisco and assaulted her.
12. In September 2023, he became a KPOO 89.5FM radio host in San Francisco.
13. He was 53 when he was arrested at around 9:00 a.m. on November 9, 2023 by San Francisco Police Department officers on Scott Street in San Francisco on suspicion of sodomy by use of force, false imprisonment, assault, sexual battery by restraint and parole violation among other allegations. He was booked into the San Francisco Jail in San Francisco. On November 13, 2023, he made his first court appearance.

SF city commissioner William Monroe “Tariq” Palmer II, a member of 2 key oversight bodies in SF criminal justice system, has been jailed & accused of a slate of felony sexual assault charges, inc "sodomy by use of force & false imprisonment." @SFchroniclehttps://t.co/0tWk8pJizm

— Carla ‘Bluechecked’ Marinucci (@cmarinucci) November 11, 2023