Former L.A. officer named Fresno police auditor

Published online on Wednesday, Nov. 04, 2009

A former Los Angeles police officer with wide experience in America's justice system is Fresno's first police auditor.

Eddie J. Aubrey, 50, was introduced by city officials Wednesday afternoon as director of the city's new Office of Independent Review.

His selection is a milestone in Fresno's long effort to ensure civilian oversight of police. It also is a public-policy success for Mayor Ashley Swearengin, who made the office a cornerstone of her mayoral campaign last year.

Aubrey will be charged with providing independent review of some police department internal investigations, and his appointment comes in the wake of three recent officer-involved shootings, including two that left men dead.

Aubrey said he understands the importance of public faith in a city's police department.

"I want to let you know how excited I am to be here and how passionate I am about the role" of police auditor, Aubrey said.

City manager Andy Souza, who introduced Aubrey and will directly oversee him, said City Hall sought a person with extensive law-enforcement experience who also is well-grounded in law and gets along with people.

"We have found someone who meets those high standards," Souza said. He added that Aubrey's career reveals a solid professional who "has been consistently called upon to make neutral, impartial, fair and fact-based decisions."

Roselyn Clark, president of the Fresno Police and Neighborhood Watch Association and a member of a community panel that interviewed finalists for police auditor, said Aubrey has a tough job.

"I believe our police officers have the trust of the majority of the people in the city of Fresno," Clark said. "I also realize there are some segments of the community where they do not trust the police officers. We're going to have to gain that trust."

Aubrey, who lives in Washington state, starts on Nov. 30. He will be paid $107,000 annually. His office, consisting of himself and one assistant, will be in the Dickey Youth Center on Divisadero Avenue, not far from City Hall.

Aubrey brings nearly 30 years of public-service experience. He was a police officer for 14 years -- five in Santa Monica, nine in Los Angeles -- and served 10 years as a deputy-prosecuting attorney in the King County (Washington) Prosecutor's Office. In the latter position, he was a special prosecutor for the King County Sheriff's Department's narcotics enforcement task force.

King County is Washington's most populous county; Seattle is the county seat.

Most recently, Aubrey has been a judge pro tem with the King County District Court and director of campus public safety and risk manager at Tacoma Community College.

Aubrey said his first task is "getting settled in" -- moving 1,000 miles, opening his office, meeting as many community residents as possible.

But, Aubrey added, a priority will be reviewing the police department's investigations of recent officer-involved shootings. Six people have been shot and killed by Fresno police officers in 2009, a tally that puts the department ahead of similar-sized California agencies this year.

Over the long term, however, state figures show that the Fresno department has killed suspects at a rate about average for comparable police agencies in the state.

Aubrey gave no hint at his thoughts on the shootings, saying only that his review of all the shootings will be thorough and open: "When you have information available so everyone can see it, then everyone can trust the process."

Considering that various City Hall officials and community leaders have fought for a police auditor since the 1990s, Wednesday's announcement was rather tame and low-key.