Fresno’s police reform commission takes first steps. But it must be more transparent
The much-ballyhooed Fresno Commission for Police Reform assembled in public view Monday evening for the first time.
On Zoom, of course. Because putting 40 people in the same room — 37 commission members plus a few onlookers, including Mayor-elect Jerry Dyer — these days is unwise. Especially if the arguments get full-throated.
Born out of local demands to address decades of inequities to Blacks and people of color by the Fresno Police Department, as evidenced by documented arrest rates and scores of personal anecdotes, the commission has a near-impossible task. It must satisfy an inflamed public that wants real change, as well as powers-that-be resistant to it — and do so in a short period of time.
When the commission was announced in June, meetings were slated to be private. (It is not a legislative body and therefore does not fall under the Brown Act.) However, public notice of Monday’s meeting was given on the city of Fresno website — provided you knew where to look. It was also simulcast on the city’s YouTube channel.
“I didn’t even know the city had a YouTube channel,” said commission chair Oliver Baines, the former two-term city councilmember and one-time cop.
Few do. It only has 245 subscribers and (as of Wednesday afternoon) the meeting had just 155 views.
So what happened? Mainly, a lot of bureaucratic table-setting.
Time limit
Numerous commissioners groused the 90-day timeline (now fewer than 70) set by Fresno City Council President Miguel Arias wasn’t long enough to complete their important task. And Baines outlined four subcommittees: community input; community development; police training and policy; and police budget.
Baines also went over “timelines and expectations” for each subcommittee put together by himself and vice chair Sandra Celedon of Fresno Building Healthy Communities. Members of each subcommittee were not announced or made available.
“Our goal is not to be too prescriptive and too restraining,” Baines said. “We really want to allow the subcommittees to have a lot of flexibility to do some innovative work and thinking. That’s the idea. But at the same time, (we) wanted some general direction to get started.”
The full commission won’t meet again until Aug. 3, giving those subcommittees at least three weeks to discuss ideas and put together what Baines called “a work plan.” Subcommittee recommendations are due Aug. 31, followed by another “two or three weeks” for the commission to draft a final document.
Baines said he and Celedon would request more time, but that commissioners should “be mindful the council made it very clear from the outset what the expectations were … and we all knew the expectation was 90 days.”
It seems unlikely that window will be extended, given that the City Council wants to read the commission’s report and consider its recommendations before voting on a new budget in September.
Reform efforts
Members also heard from city lobbyist Angie Manetti about ongoing police reform efforts throughout the state. These include AB 1196, a bill supported by Gov. Gavin Newsom that would ban chokeholds and strangleholds by police officers, recommendations by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the 8 Can’t Wait advocacy campaign.
Because it is so diverse, the 37-member commission is impossible to characterize in broad strokes. However, the dearth of “regular folks” is notable. Nearly every member is a community advocate, a faith leader, an educator or has some tie to law enforcement.
Dyer’s looming presence is also impossible to ignore. Fresno’s former police chief and future mayor claims to be supportive of the commission and its efforts. However, Dyer remains reluctant to confront, or even admit to, racial prejudice by his officers during his 18 years in command.
As recently as 2017, Dyer trotted out the widely disproven “black-on-black crime” trope in response to data showing Fresno cops shoot more often at Blacks and Latinos. Are we supposed to believe he’s had a sudden change of heart?
Equally hard to swallow are public statements by commission member and Fresno Police Officers Association President Todd Fraizer that he is open to smart, meaningful change.
If that were the case, perhaps Fraizer would care to explain his union’s public opposition to AB 392, the 2019 state law that strengthened the standard by which police officers can use deadly force.
I’ll take Words & Actions That Don’t Jibe for $800, Alex.
Significant and historic
On the encouraging side, numerous commissioners spoke about the importance of the task before them and how there’s an opportunity to do something both significant and historic.
Members also seem to understand their work cannot be conducted behind closed doors. Public access and transparency will only add to the legitimacy of their recommendations.
“I think everyone on this commission really wants what’s good for Fresno,” Baines said.
That’s a good first step. Agreeing what “good for Fresno” actually means promises to be the tricky part.
This story was originally published July 8, 2020 at 10:23 AM.
