For Fresno PD to undergo reform, local residents will have to hold it accountable

Many of us are old enough to remember the savage beating of Rodney King, the acquittal of the police officers involved, and the justifiable anger that ensued throughout the city of Los Angeles and beyond. I was 11 at the time, and I vividly remember the tragic events unfolding on television. My mother tried explaining to me that the Black community was angry that the men who hurt Mr. King were not in trouble for their actions. I asked her sincerely, “Shouldn’t we be angry too, even if we aren’t Black?”

It’s been 28 years since the L.A. riots and I still firmly believe that our hearts should break for injustice and we should be angry when police officers abuse their power.

This summer when I was asked to serve on Fresno’s Commission on Police Reform, I was surprised yet honored. As one of three pastors that serve on the commission, it is my duty to represent Fresno’s diverse faith community.

I was born and raised in Fresno, and the more I grow in my faith and listen to stories from the most marginalized people of our city, the more passionate I’ve become about police reform. It’s our job as citizens to hold our systems and its representatives accountable. Most of us only hear about local police misconduct if the media has brought it to light, and in most cases, our public awareness of these incidents is only in response to civil litigation. Imagine if we as citizens instead took a proactive approach to police accountability and became engaged with the process.

As members of the CPR, we’ve been given access to multiple public documents, and I’ve found myself specifically drawn to the files from the Fresno Office of Independent Review (OIR). As stated on the city’s website, the purpose of the OIR is to “strengthen community trust in the Fresno Police Department by providing neutral, third-party review of police policies, procedures, strategies, and internal investigations.”

I noticed the file on the London Wallace case was missing, a Black teenager who was violently attacked and arrested by FPD over a year ago. When the director of the OIR and independent police reviewer John Gliatta was asked why this file was not yet available to the public, he revealed that although his investigation was complete, he decided on his own to withhold the report from the public at that time because he didn’t think the community could handle it after the George Floyd protests. In Gliatta’s words, “emotions were running rampant.”

Not only was Gliatta’s unilateral decision deeply problematic, it also directly delayed justice for Wallace and his family. To my surprise and disappointment, Gliatta’s decision to delay the release of his findings was actually noted in his most recent report, but we as a community didn’t bother to read it. I also find it problematic that city officials who are tasked to review the OIR report didn’t seem concerned by this deliberate withholding of public information.

If we say that our hearts break for injustice, then we must hold our leaders accountable. If we say that we stand against police brutality, then we must hold the OIR accountable. If we want to be informed, proactive, engaged citizens of Fresno, then we must do the work required. I urge us as a community to start reading reports from the OIR. They’re buried pretty deep on the City’s website, but they are easily accessible and posted on the Office’s Facebook page. I ask you to join me and the other 11 followers of this account to hold this important office accountable. It’s one small step we can take. From there, we must continue by advocating for an OIR with robust community oversight, transparency, and actual subpoena power to investigate.