Local
Fresno police auditor said he withheld report on alleged misconduct to avoid protest
Fresno’s independent police reviewer for about four months sat on his report regarding accusations of police excessive force on a teenager, he recently told members of the city’s Commission on Police Reform.
And he acknowledged doing so because he feared a backlash from the community.
Independent Police Reviewer John Gliatta said during the Sept. 16 meeting of a commission subcommittee that he completed his report about police use-of-force on 17-year-old London Wallace about a week before the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
He said he decided unilaterally, without input from the community or police, to keep the findings out of the quarterly July audit of police. Gliatta also noted it is within his power to make that kind of decision on his own.
He said “emotions were running rampant” in the wake of the May 25 killing of Floyd.
“My investigation was completed probably a week or so before the death of George Floyd,” Gliatta says in the video from the Sept. 16 meeting. “I did not want to print my results at that time because I thought it would cause some issues within the community. So I waited.”
Video of Gliatta addressing his decision was added to the commission’s website Monday. He joined the meeting to explain to the commission the scope of his job.
Gliatta said his conclusion on the Wallace incident has not changed since he completed the report, adding his findings are different than Fresno police, but he did not elaborate on how they differ. He said he recently added another recommendation to the report though he did not explain that change either.
“I just didn’t think it was prudent to put that out at that time,” he said in the video. “I wasn’t concerned how it would make the PD look.”
Reached by phone on Tuesday, Gliatta would not comment to The Bee on why he has withheld the report since July. “My report will be released in mid-October and it will be explained in there why it was not released,” he said.
Some express disbelief
In his quarterly report that was due out in July, Gliatta said, says he planned to release his findings on the Wallace incident in October, but without explanation of why he withheld it in July.
The Jan. 23, 2019, Wallace incident spawned a lawsuit against the city and police, accusing the department of excessive force after an officer repeatedly punched the 17-year-old. That incident is also commonly referenced by citizens seeking police reform.
The attorney for London Wallace, Nolan Kane of Baradat & Paboojian Inc., said he is disappointed in the amount of time it has taken the Fresno Police Department to complete and release its investigation.
“Anytime you have a delay, it hurts the victims,” he said. “Unfortunately, the independent review is consistent with the police report in not coming out as quickly the people of Fresno want.”
Some members of the commission and others reacted with disbelief over Gliatta’s admission.
Fresno’s Faith in the Valley Deputy Director Andy Levine, who joined the meeting as a guest, said he was surprised.
“I’m spinning from this conversation just now. This bold, not only admission, but bragging that he sat on the report from London Wallace to avoid protest in Fresno,” Levine said. “I think Mr. Gliatta actually spoke for himself better than we ever could.”
The subcomittee is reviewing police review systems in other cities to potentially make a recommendation to change Fresno’s system of review.
Committee member D’Aungillique Jackson, president of the Fresno State National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, organized a May 31 protest near City Hall. She said she took issue with Gliatta’s concerns related to protests.
“That was frustrating to hear given that our protest was very peaceful and Fresno State NAACP would never try to lead anything that would turn violent,” she said. “That’s something I didn’t appreciate.”
Gliatta said his concerns were related to rhetoric on social media not related to the NAACP demonstration.
Another committee member Rod Wade Jr. of United Fresno said the community should be able to consume the information in the report as soon as possible.
“When you got the information, present the information when you’re done with it and it’s available,” he said, noting Gliatta made the decision unilaterally.
Assuming Gliatta releases the report in October, the findings will have made it to the public five months later than they should have, Wade said, and without input from community leaders.
“We’re worried about what’s going on in Fresno and how to deal with these issues,” he said. “I couldn’t understand that part.”
The officer accused of excessive force, identified in the lawsuit as Christopher Martinez, is on desk duty and not allowed into the field, pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation, then-Fresno Police Department Chief Jerry Dyer said in August 2019.
.JPG)
.jpg)
Comments