Fix — or fire? Some want redesign of Fresno police auditor role after report withheld
More than one subcommittee tasked with reinventing policing in Fresno have recommended changes to the independent police auditor system that has come under scrutiny in recent weeks.
The recommendations range from installing a civilian oversight board that would oversee the independent police reviewer to firing the current auditor, John Gliatta, and starting over.
In a long and winding Monday meeting that sometimes got tense, the Fresno Commission on Police Reform’s members began sharing formalized recommendations. The commission as a whole still needs to vote on the final versions before the Oct. 26 meeting.
The recommendations come after Gliatta, who reviews police actions with little oversight of his role, told a commission subcommittee 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 withheld the findings, which he says differ from the Fresno Police Department findings, because he feared civil unrest.
The commission’s subcommitee on police training, tactics, policies and philosophy recommended a civilian oversight board, which would consist of about a dozen people from diverse backgrounds.
The oversight board would hold the independent reviewer accountable, survey the community for feelings about Fresno police, review police procedure and a number of other responsibilities.
Committee member Scott Baly, an attorney with the Fresno County Public Defender’s Office, said the independent reviewer office should have power to do investigations and be given subpoena power.
“Our subcommittee is not recommending major changes to the office of the independent auditor, however we do believe there should be civilian oversight,” he said. “Civilians don’t understand policing. We need more transparency.”
A separate subcommittee, which reviewed community input, recommended the city hire a new auditor and do a better job informing people what the police reviewer does, according to committee member, D’Anguellique Jackson, president of Fresno State’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Jackson said Gliatta, who formerly worked with the FBI, has access to information that would not necessarily be available to an auditor who was never a member of law enforcement.
“We should really be looking at amending the law as it currently stands, making sure anyone who has this position has the same clearances as those who are police officers,” Jackson said.
The recommendation to replace Gliatta may be a tall order because the auditor works for the city manager’s office. Neither the commission nor the City Council could demand Gliatta be fired without a change to the city charter.
The commission could also choose to recommend a change to the charter, according to committee member Sandra Celedon, who is executive director of Fresno Building Healthy Communities.
Committee member BT Lewis, a pastor at Rising Star Church, said the independent police reviewer position needs to be redesigned.
“It has not worked out well, and I think one of the reasons is it is not independent enough,” he said. “It should not be, in my opinion, under the city administration.”
