Internal investigation not enough, Fresno leaders say of probe into officer’s Proud Boy links
Two Fresno City Councilmembers are calling for an independent investigation into a Fresno police officer who showed up with Proud Boys to support the sale of the Tower Theatre to a church.
Councilmembers Miguel Arias and Esmeralda Soria, who both represent areas of the Tower District, said they support Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama’s decision to internally investigate the matter, but they want the outcome of any investigation to be public.
“We recognize the Police Officers Bill of Rights and the city’s Office of Independent Review policies would require such investigation findings be kept secret,” the councilmembers said in a joint statement. “We have a responsibility to protect the trust that has been built between our police department and the communities it serves. The department’s integrity and our public safety depends on this. The public deserves to know if this officer’s association is an isolated incident or a broader department issue.”
Fresno Police Officer Rick Fitzgerald was placed on paid administrative leave Sunday and Balderrama launched an internal affairs investigation after Fitzgerald was seen in a YouTube live stream with far-right residents opposing the protest of the Tower Theatre sale. Twitter users identified Fitzgerald as a Proud Boy who protested the election results in Sacramento. In podcasts and YouTube videos of his own, Fitzgerald said he reached leadership level in the Proud Boys before leaving to start his own group, called the “Sons of ’76.”
Arias and Soria said in their statement they requested that the Fresno City Attorney’s Office evaluate and advise the council on options for an independent investigation and publicizing the findings.
Arias said it’s an issue that reaches beyond the city and into the local school system.
“At a time when our students, families and school leaders are debating the presence of police officers in our schools with our children, we have an obligation to ensure the officers we send them represent the best and most competent, not members of dangerous hate groups,” he said.
Soria said Black, Latino and LGBTQ community members reached out to her expressing concerns and increasing fears about “this type of hate existing within our police department.”
“They need to be assured that our city has a department that will protect and respect them regardless of who they are. I applaud the chief’s swift action on such troubling claims, yet ask that for the sake of the community’s trust we conduct an independent investigation that is transparent and makes our findings public,” Soria said.
Balderrama told The Bee he stands by his original statement and that the police department’s internal affairs team will conduct a thorough and timely investigation into all allegations. Based on those findings, the department will take appropriate action within the law.
“Personnel investigations can be very complex and require a high degree of privacy in order to not ruin the investigation or cause undue harm to those involved,” he said. “Once complete, any information that is public or subject to open records will be shared with the community.”
Police Officers Association reacts
Leaders of the Fresno Police Officers Association on Monday also in a statement said the group supports Balderrama’s call for an investigation.
“The FPOA is aware of the allegations launched through social media against a Fresno police officer. The allegations are very troubling and are undoubtedly of great concern to the police department, the FPOA, and the community as a whole,” the police union said in its statement. “The investigation should be based on facts and evidence, free of political influences, purposed for discovering the validity to the allegations at hand.
“The FPOA also echoes the sentiments of Mayor Dyer, recognizing that racism, discrimination, and criminal conduct among our ranks is absolutely intolerable,” the statement said. “The FPOA respects the constitutional rights of all persons and opposes any group or individual that would use violence or other illegal means to suppress the rights of others.”
Dyer issued a statement Sunday evening but reiterated his comments Monday during a news conference on an unrelated topic.
“We will not tolerate any city employee that belongs to, or affiliates with, or associates with an organization that promotes supremacy, promotes criminal activity or promotes racism,” he said. “That will not be tolerated in the city of Fresno.”
Commission for Police Reform leaders speak out
Oliver Baines, the chair of Fresno’s Commission on Police Reform, said Fitzgerald’s claims to be a former Proud Boy member amplifies the problem of trust for the Fresno Police Department.
“It’s hard to say he’s going to be independent arbiter of justice in this sense when he’s claiming white supremacist views,” said Baines, a former Fresno police officer and Fresno City Councilmember. “The police department has a responsibility to ensure officers are not part of any white supremacist organizations.
“Once it’s brought to the department’s attention, they have a duty and obligation to this community to do something about it,” he said. “This community needs to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that its officers are not racists. There’s no way the police department is going to inspire the trust of public if it’s viewed that any percentage of its officers are affiliated with hate groups.”
Sandra Celedon, the commission’s vice chair, went a step further. If the allegations are true, she said, Fitzgerald should be fired.
“Fitzgerald’s possible involvement with this extremist group speaks to our long-standing and violent experience as a whole with law enforcement, particularly within the city of Fresno,” Celedon said. “The Fresno Commission for Police Reform outlined the sordid history of KKK members in various positions of power in Fresno, including in the Fresno Police Department. Fresnans have been loud and clear about the need for transparency and accountability.
“Fresnans of color continue to experience harassment and discrimination at the hands of police officers that goes unchecked,” she said.
City leaders must build change by quickly putting into action the recommendations from the Commission on Police reform, Celedon said. She called for the creation of a civilian oversight board and that it be given the authority to review and act on disciplinary actions.
“Words and investigations are not enough,” she said. It’s time to make it clear that hate is not welcome in our city and will not be tolerated in any department.”
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 3:18 PM.