Police admit ‘failures’ investigating video of ex-Fresno principal allegedly striking student
Fresno police Chief Paco Balderrama on Thursday said “system failures” within the police department were to blame for a months-long delay in the investigation into a former Fresno Unified school principal accused of striking a student in June.
Speaking with reporters Thursday, Balderrama acknowledged police received video evidence in June showing the altercation involving Brian Vollhardt, the now ex-principal of Wolters Elementary School. However, the chief didn’t see the video or hand the case over to the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office until Tuesday, after a Fresno Bee Ed Lab reporter started asking questions.
Vollhardt is charged with a single misdemeanor count of child abuse in connection with the June 7 incident in the school’s cafeteria. He had not yet been arrested as of Thursday morning, Fresno police confirmed.
Video obtained Thursday through a Public Records Request appears to show Vollhardt knock the student to the ground. An FUSD source said the student is a child with special needs.
The Bee is not identifying the child.
In a follow-up email to The Bee on Thursday, Balderrama said that notification of the Vollhardt case “should have been made up the chain-of-command all the way to me” when Fresno Unified first reported the incident to police June 9.
“That does not appear to have occurred and we are looking into why that did not happen,” he said.
The case was then miscategorized as “suspended,” which Balderrama said often happens with misdemeanor cases until a victim follows up about their intent to proceed with filing charges.
This case, being as severe as it was, should have instead gone to a detective immediately, the chief said.
Superintendent Bob Nelson said he would be “remiss” not to acknowledge the racial dynamics present in the video — the principal is white and the student is Black.
“While there’s been zero information to lead us to believe that this was a racially motivated altercation, we are not blind to the fact that racial dynamics are always present,” he said.
Nelson added that the student is “physically okay” and that the district provided “the necessary social-emotional supports” following the incident.
The district is aware of “no physical injury” to the student at the time of the event, he said.
Vollhardt is now listed as the vice principal of Tranquillity High in Golden Plains Unified School District.
FUSD leaders said the district had reported Vollhardt’s actions to all necessary state agencies. Nelson added he does not believe the “standard practice” of the new school district calling FUSD for a reference call took place in Vollhardt’s case.
Golden Plains Unified’s superintendent did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Vollhardt has not responded to multiple requests for comment.
He resigned from his position as Wolters principal Aug. 4. He was first hired by Fresno Unified in 2008 as a teacher with Roosevelt High School’s special education department. He also worked at Tenaya Middle School and Bullard High School in his time with Fresno Unified.
Vollhardt has a valid Level II Education Specialist Instruction Credential, according to the state’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The credential allows him to “conduct assessments, provide instruction, and special education related services to individuals with a primary disability of autism.”
As of Thursday afternoon, Vollhardt’s profile on the commission’s site had no record of any disciplinary actions regarding his administrative credential.
This story was originally published September 8, 2022 at 10:01 AM.
