A man is suing the San Francisco District Attorney’s office after losing his job due to an accidental “reply all” email.
Jovan Thomas, 56, filed the complaint on Friday, six months after the scandalous correspondence in question.
In it, the trained victim advocate appeared to ask married district attorney Brooke Jenkins, 42, “what color” her panties were, before apologizing profusely seconds later.
Both messages were sent to the entire office, with the employee’s full email signature.
This suggests he sent the messages from a work laptop, in response to a calendar invitation to an event memorialising the torture and murder of a gay college student in 1998. He was fired that day, but now claims he was unfairly dismissed.
A man is suing San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office after losing his job due to an accidental “reply all” email earlier this year.
Jovan Thomas, 56, filed the complaint on Friday, six months after the correspondence in question, seen here.
In the Superior Court complaint, Thomas’ lawyers wrote how he had been texting an old friend whose father had just died and intended to cheer him up with the message.
I had asked, ‘What color are the panties you’re wearing?’
“In the hope of cheering up his friend, who was distraught and grieving the death of his father, (Thomas) intended to text him a humorous question of the type that the plaintiff had sent his friend on occasion in the past,” the lawyers explained.
‘(Thomas’s) text to his friend was a whimsical question that was part of the plaintiff’s standard jocular repertoire with his friend.
‘In the context of their long-standing friendship, the complainant’s perfunctory question had no sexual, lewd, obscene, misogynistic or sexist meaning or intent.
‘Rather, it was a silly, meaningless letter written by one old friend to another friend, intended to try to distract and cheer him up while he was going through a difficult and upsetting experience.
“(Thomas’) text was not an actual question about the color of his friend’s panties, as Plaintiff knew his friend was a heterosexual male who did not wear panties,” the complaint concluded.
“It was a silly joke meant to cheer up his friend.”
The staffer apologized profusely in a follow-up message seconds later, claiming it was an accidental text message even though it contained her official email signature.
But it was not perceived that way, and on January 26 it sparked outrage and a swift internal investigation, hinted at by Chief Deputy District Attorney Ana Gonzalez in this final response to the unfolding disaster.
But it was not perceived that way and on January 26 it sparked outrage and a swift internal investigation that culminated in the firing of Bayview’s victim advocate.
Before that, he frantically told his coworkers that he had accidentally sent a message: “Good afternoon, everyone.”
‘While texting with my fraternity brother, I sent a very inappropriate email.
‘The email was sent as a joke… and I sincerely apologize to everyone.
“Please know that this is not who I am as a person as I conduct myself with respect and dignity,” the hastily written apology continues.
‘Please know that I am truly sorry and that I would never do something like that on purpose.’
Later that day, Chief Deputy District Attorney Ana Gonzalez issued the final response to the unfolding disaster, ordering staff to delete the initial email and refrain from disseminating it further.
“Dear all,” the new email, which was also re-shared, begins. “We are aware that an inappropriate email was sent. Management is addressing this matter.”
She is now suing Jenkins, her office and the city. The city attorney is pictured here with her husband Daniel. She earned her law degree from the University of Chicago after studying political science at the University of California, Berkeley.
Jenkins with her husband Daniel and two of their three children. She has worked in the district attorney’s office since 2014. She took over as interim district attorney following Chesa Boudin’s recall in 2022, after which she was officially elected.
Thomas’ complaint alleges that Jenkins and others made “false, fraudulent, malicious, and humiliating statements” about him to the press. He seeks a jury trial and compensatory and punitive damages. Jenkins is pictured here with new presidential candidate Kamala Harris
“If you have opened the email, please delete it, do not forward, copy or otherwise distribute this email,” Gonzalez continued.
‘Please remember that City-issued email is for business purposes only. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the SFDA Human Resources Department.’
Brooke Jenkins, 42, who took on the role of acting district attorney after Chesa Boudin was ousted in 2022, did not speak out about the shaming, but a spokesperson for the DA’s office did, issuing a statement in the following days denouncing Thomas’ “misogynistic behavior.”
“This misogynistic behavior violates the office’s code of conduct and this individual has been terminated,” the representative wrote.
‘The District Attorney’s Office is committed to maintaining a professional office environment where all staff members are treated with dignity and respect and are not subject to harassment or a hostile work environment.’
Thomas’ complaint alleges that Jenkins and others made “false, fraudulent, malicious and demeaning statements” about him to the press.
A week later, he said, he was told his termination was for just cause.
As a result, she is seeking a jury trial and compensatory and punitive damages.
Jenkins has worked in the district attorney’s office since 2014. She is married and has three children with her partner, Daniel.
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