Protest shows huge divide Mayor-elect Jerry Dyer must bridge to make One Fresno
There was a moment during Sunday’s peaceful demonstration in downtown Fresno against police violence exemplified by the sickening murder of George Floyd, one particular moment, where things could’ve turned ugly.
More than 3,000 protesters packed P Street in front of Fresno City Hall, where a podium had been set up for speakers. One of them, co-organizer Denise Rogers-Heydt, a Fresno State student and political action chair of the campus NAACP chapter, brought up the name “Jerry Dyer.”
At the mention of Fresno’s mayor-in-waiting and former police chief, the tenor of the crowd changed. The swell of anger was palpable. Guarding the glass-encased building while standing behind portable barricades were fewer than 10 security officers — a force not nearly large enough had anger turned to rage.
Instead, Rogers-Heydt quickly and effectively defused the tensions. She stopped her speech, reminded everyone it was a peaceful gathering and refocused her message on the plight of blacks in Fresno.
Dyer was not in attendance. He and Chief Andy Hall both asked to speak, I was told by two people involved with the protest, but were denied for fear they’d become targets of hostility. Which would detract from the positive tone organizers wanted to set.
Besides, Dyer and Hall would’ve faced any number of uncomfortable questions with no real answers, except the systemic ones.
For example, why one of their officers shot Isiah Murrietta-Golding in the back of the head in 2017 as the unarmed 16-year-old was running away and holding up his pants.
Or why another officer, seemingly unprovoked, started beating the daylights out of 17-year-old London Wallace in 2019.
Why it takes years, or a victim’s lawsuit, for body camera footage of these incidents to be made public. Why every police shooting gets ruled as “justified” by review panels with no citizen oversight. Why between 2012 and 2016, Fresno cops either shot or shot at black people at a rate nearly triple their population.
So it’s a good thing they, and Dyer in particular, weren’t there. This was a time for black voices to be heard — not his.
Closing Fresno’s great divide
While observing 3,000 people assemble and march in Fresno during a pandemic (so much for social distancing), it was impossible not to contrast what I was seeing and hearing with the political reality.
To those waving signs and chanting, “Hands up! Don’t shoot!” Dyer is the local embodiment of police brutality and targeting of those with black and brown skin. He is the very symbol of what they’re protesting against.
But in a different swath of town, the one that voted in the March primary, Dyer is the leader best equipped to steer California’s fifth-largest city for the next four (or possibly eight) years. And when it comes to crime, he’s their Great Protector.
That is some divide, and bringing the two sides together will require both effort and reform. It’ll certainly take more than a campaign slogan. There can be no “One Fresno” for as long as we live in such separate worlds.
Dyer issued a statement on social media denouncing what took place in Minneapolis. He termed Floyd’s death “a grave injustice” by police officers and expressed sympathy for those feeling “emotions of outrage.”
Fresno’s mayor-elect then called upon protesters to express themselves “in a peaceful manner” and not let “outside agitators and opportunists destroy our city and devalue this tragedy” while pledging to “work together to address issues of concern.”
Call me naive, but I do not doubt Dyer’s sincerity. Despite the police department’s track record under his leadership and a particularly incriminating photo his detractors never get tired of circulating, I believe Dyer wants to help heal these wounds.
If so, it’s going to take a lot more than words. It’s going to take action. Not just from Dyer, mind you, but from Fresnans of every skin tone — particularly those of us who enjoy the benefits of being white.
List of demands for Dyer
We must demand real community involvement in the hiring of the next police chief, as opposed to the sham we got last time.
We must demand Fresno PD be held accountable for its wrongdoings, including independent investigations for police shootings and criminal charges against any cop found to use excessive, unnecessary force.
We must demand our tax dollars are not spent on lawyers defending cops that engage in racist or violent acts.
We must demand Dyer be open to alternative methods of reducing gun violence (i.e. Advance Peace) that have proven effective in other California cities.
We must demand Dyer include black and brown faces at every decision-making table in his administration while actively supporting investment in poorer neighborhoods, especially the west side.
If Dyer really wants to unite Fresno, these are the steps he must undertake to prove those aren’t empty words.
Or else nothing will change; the wound will remain open. And next time the murder of a black man or woman by police is caught on video, touching off a nationwide wave of protests and demonstrations, the ones here won’t be so peaceful.
