ACLU charges police with withholding public records. Police chief says it’s not true

Citing officer safety, Chief Jerry Dyer says he’s taking a stand against a civil rights organization that has accused the Fresno Police Department of withholding public records pertaining to officer training.

In Fresno County Superior Court, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California contends city and police officials have violated the California Public Records Act, which typically requires public agencies to make records available within 10 days of a request.

The requested records pertain to training in areas such as officer bias, use of force, the discharging of firearms, investigating civilian complaints and interacting with the public.

The ACLU’s petition says the organization first requested the training records on Dec. 1, 2016. Since then, police have turned over some of the information, but not all of it, the petition says.

But Dyer said in an email that his department has complied with the ACLU request and has even invited an ACLU attorney to visit the department’s training center to see firsthand how officers are trained, but the attorney hasn’t accepted the invitation.

“We are being as transparent as possible, providing as much information as we can,” Dyer said. “However, we must be careful not to provide them with any training material or specific procedures that will compromise the safety of our officers by revealing tactics or confidential information.”

The ACLU said in court papers it is requesting the records “due to community concerns about the Fresno Police Department’s use of force and its interaction with communities of color.” The organization wants a judge to order the city to turn over all training-related records, except those that the court has determined to be lawfully withheld.

Both sides will meet with Court Commissioner Samuel Dalesandro on Wednesday to discuss the petition.

Not first challenge

The petition is a latest salvo by the ACLU of Northern California against the city.

In 2009, a federal judge in Fresno gave final approval to a $2.35 million class-action settlement to hundreds of Fresno’s homeless residents, whose personal property, including essential medications, family photographs and personal documents had been confiscated by police and city workers.

The homeless were represented by the ACLU of Northern California, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and the law firm of Heller Ehrman LLP. U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger ruled that the city and the California Department of Transportation had violated the homeless residents’ constitutional rights and issued an order that prohibiting the two agencies from continuing to seize and destroy the property of homeless people.

Also in 2009, the ACLU prevailed against Fresno in a Public Records Act lawsuit to compel the police department to release the names of two officers who were caught on video repeatedly punching a homeless man.

The latest court filing comes in the wake of an ACLU report, released in November, that says Fresno police officers fire their guns most often at black or Latino people. Many times, shooting incidents involve officers who discharged their weapons before, the report said.

In its petition, the ACLU says Fresno officers discharge their weapons more frequently that officers in other agencies. Between 2001 to 20016, Fresno police fired their weapons 146 times. “This is an average of approximately nine officer-involved shootings per year in Fresno, even though other jurisdictions can go years without a single officer-involved shooting,” the petition says.

In addition, 55 Fresno police officers have discharged their firearms more than once, and about seven officers have discharged their firearms four or more times, the petition says.

Severe impact

The ACLU contends the shootings have severely affected minorities and low-income individuals living in southern areas of Fresno. For example, between 2011 to 2016, the petition says, “black and Hispanic individuals account for 80 percent of officer-involved shootings victims in Fresno.” In comparison, the white, wealthier areas of north Fresno have had zero officer-involved shootings between 2006 and 2016, the petition says.

“Despite these overwhelming concerns, the FPD has historically operated within a culture of secrecy, making it impossible for Fresno community members to hold the FPD accountable and institute change,” the petition says.

Dyer, however, has refuted the findings, pointing to a 2017 Fresno County Grand Jury report that provided “favorable” findings for his department after assessing policies, procedures and training. The grand jury reviewed officer-involved shooting investigations between 2000 and 2017.

In defending his position, Dyer said the ACLU has asked for “a voluminous amount of information that was very broad in scope.” He said he spoke with ACLU attorney Novella Coleman and “shared with her all of the training we provide to our officers.” A deputy chief also meet with Coleman. After a two-hour meeting “it appeared concerns were satisfied,” Dyer said.

In addition, the Fresno City Attorney’s Office has spent countless hours responding to the request, researching, reviewing and providing documentation to the ACLU, Dyer said. “This included 20 policies covering use of force, officer-involved shootings, body worn cameras, racial profiling and others,” the chief said. “Two Roll Call Training bulletins and summaries of 10 officer-involved shootings were also provided.”

Dyer said it would have been better for the ACLU to continue to meet with the city’s attorneys prior to filing the petition, which the chief said is required by law, in order to determine what other documents were needed. “We were under the impression that we had satisfied the ACLU concerns and provided them with all of the material they had requested, with the exception of certain material deemed confidential and protected by law,” he said.

“We are attempting to be as open and transparent as possible without compromising the safety of our officers,” Dyer said.

This story was originally published January 27, 2018 at 3:57 PM with the headline "ACLU charges police with withholding public records. Police chief says it’s not true."