Fresno "Independent" Police Auditor Releases Report

The auditor report will be officially released to the public tomorrow, Tuesday Oct. 5, but was leaked to the press and the public last Friday. Mainstream media coverage of the report have already been problematic, allowing the Fresno police to spin the report in their favor. A good example is the Fresno Bee story that appeared in the Sunday paper claiming approval ratings for the police are 68% citywide and higher in districts on the southside of town(which are predominately working class or poor, and majority people of color). A critical reading of the report will highlight incredibly low approval ratings(from a survey done by an outisde agency) for Police Chief Jerry Dyer, as well as the reality of the situation. Which is that no one, including the auditor, seems to be honestly reviewing the large numbers of people murdered by police in recent years; and that the police department continues to refuse to provide officers with adequate mental health training or address various other community concerns(including firing an out of control Chief that should be on Megan's list).