Fresno residents demand auditor resign after withholding police brutality investigation
The Fresno City Council asked Thursday for a workshop briefing the members on the process of the city’s independent police reviewer following his admission to withholding a completed report and the subsequent public outcry.
Independent police reviewer John Gliatta told a subcommittee of Fresno’s Commission on Police Reform on Sept. 16 that he has been sitting on a report he finished in May related to the accusations of brutality by police in the Jan. 23, 2019, arrest of 17-year-old London Wallace.
The council agreed without a vote to have staffers return in October with a presentation on the independent reviewer’s role in the city. City Attorney Doug Sloan said the council could discuss the auditor’s process in an open session but would have to reserve specifics about the Wallace case for a closed session.
Gliatta has said he made the decision on his own — without prompting or consultation from community leaders or Fresno police — to not place his investigation on the Wallace incident in the July quarterly review, saying emotions potentially remained too raw from the May 25 killing of George Floyd by police.
Fresno resident and member of the commission on police reform Gloria Hernandez called for Gliatta’s job.
“His trust was hanging by a thread, and now the thread has been broken,” she said. “He should release the audit on what happened to London Wallace and Gerald Johnson immediately. He should then resign in shame.”
The 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.
The family of Gerald Johnson, a 55-year-old Fresno man shot and killed by police in March, filed a wrongful death claim against the city of Fresno on June 8. It’s unclear where the auditor stands in that investigation.
Gliatta’s admission to withholding the Wallace investigation set off outrage among members of the subcommittee and others in the community, who questioned whether the independent auditor was acting in the best interest of the public or police officers accused of misconduct.
“That report should be out. There should be transparency,” Fresno resident Lisa Flores said Thursday. “When you hide things, it just makes people wonder what sort of malfeasance is going on.”
Another resident Matthew Woodward wondered out loud to the council how an independent reviewer could be allowed to make the unilateral decision.
“I’m concerned that if anyone were to be beat by the police or any other kind of misconduct that the police department isn’t going to be held accountable,” he said. “Is there any way we can be certain that we can get justice in our city?”
Others, including those on social media, called for an immediate release of the auditor’s report and Gliatta’s resignation or termination.
City Manager Wilma Quan said while the administration oversees Gliatta’s office, he works independently.
Critics of Gliatta gained a perhaps unexpected voice of support from Councilmember Garry Bredefeld, who often makes a point to say he supports law enforcement. He said he hoped the issue would not become an opportunity to attack Gliatta’s character.
“I think he probably made a mistake in not releasing something that should have been released,” he said. “I don’t think we should attack and malign people simply because we disagree with him.”
Councilmember Esmeralda Soria said she is interested in better understanding the independent reviewer’s process and decision-making and making the process public.
“The last thing I want to do is perpetuate the conversation that we are eroding trust with our police department,” she said. “I think it’s incumbent upon us that if we feel strongly about building trust in our community and addressing those challenges head-on that we’re fully transparent.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 3:05 PM.
