END THE BRUTALITY EPIDEMIC IN FRESNO!

According to a recent report published by the Fresno Police Department called the “2025 Public Safety Need Assessment,” the FPD is estimating that by the year 2025 the police department will have grown to 1601 sworn officers. But what kind of oversight mechanism will there be to ensure that our growing police force won’t be plagued by the same types of police misconduct for which the LAPD has become famous?

END THE BRUTALITY EPIDEMIC IN FRESNO!
by Nicholas DeGraff



The Centers for Disease Control need to be alerted immediately. An epidemic is sweeping California and it’s not the flu. . . . Deaths have been reported in cities small and large, including yours. In many neighborhoods, people are in fear of leaving their homes; daily life is different for these residents. This disease can affect any family but tends to prey on our low-income and minority neighborhoods. Survivors who have been affected suffer life-long effects from exposure. The epidemic is police violence.

Not all cops are bad cops, but how are community residents supposed to trust a police department that does not have a strong system for keeping good cops on the street, and dealing with the police officers that cross the line between protector and tyrant? How are families who have lost a loved one to a police shooting supposed to trust an investigation that is led and overseen by the police department itself, by those who have an interest in justifying the shooting?

For many years now, community leaders have been trying to answer that question for our city leaders: Adopt an Independent Police Auditor (IPA). Both the mayor and the chief of police agree that an IPA is needed. The City of Fresno’s Independent Police Auditor Study Commission found

There are two healthy, viable models for an Independent Police Auditor now operating in California, in Sacramento and San Jose. The Independent Police Auditor study commission would consider both as best practices that would be useful, in whole or in part in developing a Fresno IPA.
(IPASC Report, 10/1/03)

The major difference between the two models is that in Sacramento, the IPA reports to the city manager and in so doing, to the mayor; whereas in San Jose, the IPA reports to the community through the city council. Many working for police oversight as well as the Central California Criminal Justice Committee agree that the San Jose model is better for the City of Fresno. Many feel that having an IPA that reports to the city council will make it more responsive to community needs.
In the City of San Jose, the IPA has made policy changes that have resulted in complaints being reduced to zero for the last year. The three primary functions of the San Jose IPA are to

1. serve as an alternative office for the filing of police complaints. This alternative forum, as opposed to a police station, creates an atmosphere in which people feel safe in filing a complaint.

2. monitor and audit investigations of citizen complaints conducted by the police department. Investigations of complaints are reviewed for thoroughness and objectivity as well as consistency (to ensure that the evidence at hand supports the findings of the investigation). During the investigation, the San Jose IPA is present for questioning and has full access to all information and files regarding the complaint.


3. promote public awareness of a person’s right to file a complaint. The San Jose IPA meets with community groups to get community input and makes recommendations for changes in training as well as departmental policy.

At the risk of sounding like John Lennon, let’s imagine Fresno with an IPA like the one in San Jose. People who feel they have been mistreated by the FPD will be able to go to a safe place to file a complaint instead of into a police station, which is often intimidating. Families of the victims of police violence will have an office that will ensure that the investigation was fair and impartial. Training and policy will come under review such as the changes which make it more likely that an officer will opt to use
lethal force over non-lethal force.

If an IPA would be so great, why don’t we have one now? Good question, one to ask your city council member. Members of the city council claim that there isn’t enough money in the budget to pay for an IPA. (See story by Gloria Hernandez in this issue.) Perhaps this may be too much for the Centers for Disease Control to cure, but not for your city council member. Encourage the city council to get the cure for Fresno; write to
Tom Boyajian, District 1: district1 [at] ci.fresno.ca.us
Brian Calhoun, District 2: district2 [at] ci.fresno.ca.us
Cynthia Sterling, District 3: district3 [at] ci.fresno.ca.us
Brad Castillo, District 4: district4 [at] ci.fresno.ca.us
Mike Dages, District 5: district5 [at] ci.fresno.ca.us
Jerry Duncan, District 6: district6 [at] ci.fresno.ca.us
Henry T. Perea, District 7: district7 [at] ci.fresno.ca.us

Fresno City Council
Fresno City Hall
2600 Fresno St.
Fresno, CA 93721-3600
(559) 489–1560