Will We Have Effective Police Oversight in Fresno?

Will We Have Effective Police Oversight in Fresno?
By Gerry Bill

By the time you read these words, the City of Fresno may have just hired someone to head the Office of Independent Review (OIR), an office that is supposed to provide outside oversight of the Fresno Police Department (FPD). As the Community Alliance went to press, the city was in the final stages of the hiring process.

Once that person is hired, the next question will be whether he/she can perform the job effectively. The OIR was created by the City Council, at the urging of Mayor Ashley Swearengin, in March. It was the result of a 10-year campaign by the people of Fresno to bring an independent police auditor to Fresno. That effort was spearheaded by the Central California Criminal Justice Committee (CCCJC).

The CCCJC is committed to creating a base of support in the community for the OIR. Community support is crucial if the OIR is going to be able to stand up to the FPD and the City of Fresno.

The OIR is technically under the city manager’s office. The person will not be an employee of the FPD and will not answer to the police chief. That arrangement is the best of the possible compromises in creating such a position. To have access to police personnel files, the OIR would have to be under an officer of the city who has access to those files. Being under the city manager is the least onerous of the choices available.

The downside is that the OIR can be fired at the whim of the city manager, and the police chief could pressure the city manager to do just that if the OIR becomes too critical of the police department. Of course, what is the point of having an OIR if he/she cannot be critical of police actions?

Fresno had hired a temporary person to help get the OIR office going. That person was Bob Aaronson, who had been a consultant for the city on this matter back in March and who does part-time police oversight in Santa Cruz and Davis.

The CCCJC met several times with Aaronson and found him to be highly competent and knowledgeable about the job. He provided the CCCJC with an understanding of the internal city politics that come about when there is an internal police auditor (or an OIR in our case). He stated that the OIR will be under constant pressure from the police department to side with the police and from the city attorney not to say (or write) anything that could put the city at risk of a lawsuit.

Furthermore, Aaronson pointed out that the OIR cannot be effective unless he/she earns the respect of the members of the police department. At the same time, the OIR cannot have any credibility with the public unless he/she is independent enough to stand up to the police department when the officers are clearly in the wrong. It is a fine line that the OIR must tread.

Community support for the OIR will make a huge difference. If we do not want the OIR to be fired the first time that he/she takes a stand against the police, it will have to be well-known within City Hall that this person has the confidence of the citizens of Fresno. The only thing that will protect the OIR is if a huge public outcry were to result from a firing.

The CCCJC hopes that the person who is hired is someone of high integrity and who is willing to be a truly independent voice. Once the CCCJC is satisfied that the right person is in the job, the next step will be to inform the public about this new office and its operations, raising public awareness and support for the OIR. The more community support the OIR has, the greater the chances of the position becoming a truly independent voice for justice in cases of police abuse.

This is one of those situations where we, as citizens, can really make a difference. Just as it is our job as members of the public to make President Barack Obama do the right thing, it is also our job to make the OIR do the right thing. Let’s hold his/her feet to the fire and see what happens.

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Gerry Bill is emeritus professor of sociology and American studies at Fresno City College. He is co-chair of the Central California Criminal Justice Committee. He is also a board member of the Fresno Center for Nonviolence, the Fresno Free College Foundation/KFCF 88.1 FM and Peace Fresno.