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Questions Arise Over Holdback of Fresno PD Use of Force Critique
Several Fresno City Council members criticized police auditor John Gliatta for withholding a report regarding allegations of police use of excessive force during a January 2019 arrest.
Gliatta told a subcommittee of the Commission on Police Reform he was concerned about releasing his findings only weeks after the George Floyd death at police hands in Minneapolis in May.
“I internally decided not to put it out because I knew the city, the community had some very fragile emotions going on. And I didn’t think it would help matters by putting this up because I contradict what the PD came up with,” Gliatta said on Sept. 16.
John Gliatta, Fresno Independent Police Reviewer
London Wallace has sued the city over the alleged beating. The case is now in federal court.
[rlic_related_post_one]Footage Shows Police Punching 17-Year Old
Police body camera footage released after the filing of the suit last year appears to show police punching Wallace, then 17-years old, during his arrest at a Fresno apartment complex.
Gliatta’s decision, which he said he made by himself without any pressure from outside groups, did not sit will with subcommittee members last week or council members speaking at today’s meeting.
“I don’t know if that’s the best way to go about this,” councilwoman Esmeralda Soria said. “The last thing that I want to do is continue to perpetuate the conversation that we are eroding trust with our police department.”
The Fresno Bee first reported the story this week.
Reports Finished, Not Released
Gliatta told the community input subcommittee his report was finished in time for his July quarterly report after a monthlong investigation. He also said that an internal police investigation was finished in May.
Neither report is public. Additionally, Gliatta did not specify what contradictions he found with the police department’s internal report.
During the subcommittee meeting, members questioned Gliatta’s decision to delay.
City Manager Defends Gliatta
Reacting to Soria’s comments, City Manager Wilma Quan defended Gliatta.
“John has the full support of my office. He has been nothing but honest and full of integrity since day one. I watched his response to the reform commission last week, and his answer could not have been more honest about why he is waiting until October to release his findings of that particular case. And so that, to me, is the epitome of integrity,” Quan said.
Quan suggested scheduling a presentation from Gliatta to the city council next month.
Based on formation of the Office of Independent Review in 2017, Gliatta reports to the city manager’s office but does not receive direction on what to investigate.
Fresno City Council President Miguel Arias asked whether the council can force an earlier release of Gliatta’s report before October.
City Attorney Douglas Sloan said Quan is Gliatta’s boss, but does not direct what he can or cannot say.
Requests for comments from the city were not returned by time of publication.
Council Meeting Likely
Councilman Mike Karbassi welcomed a meeting with Gliatta, perhaps in closed session.
“We want to make sure we don’t erode the integrity of that role. And I don’t recall this situation happening before. This is a learning experience,” Karbassi said. “We also have to ensure if policies weren’t followed, that we correct those policies so it doesn’t happen again.”
Councilman Garry Bredefeld felt such reports should be released in a timely manner, saying Gliatta may have made a mistake by withholding his findings.
Wallace Attorney Still Doesn’t Have Report
Warren Paboojian, Wallace’s attorney, is still waiting for the police internal affairs report.
He says Gliatta should have released his findings.
“I don’t think that’s a call that he should be making. He’s just assuming that the people of Fresno are going to somehow riot. This was a serious case for my client, but it doesn’t involve a death. I give the citizens of this community a little bit more credit than he does,” Paboojian said.
He thinks Gliatta should release the report immediately.
“What’s the excuse now?” Paboojian asked.
As far as the case, things are moving slowly, Paboojian said, partially because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“(London Wallace) is waiting for justice. He is waiting for his day in court,” Pabjoojian said.
troy
September 25, 2020 at 8:08 am
Fresno PD is mostly a fine group of people. And like most groups , there are going to be a few that aren’t quality individuals.
Bernard Rieux
September 25, 2020 at 8:30 am
Quan: “ I watched his response to the reform commission last week, and his answer could not have been more honest about why he is waiting until October to release his findings of that particular case.”
That’s just not true. He was deceptive in his answer. He initially responded that the report was delayed because of “the number of officers and witnesses involved.” He only later confessed that the real reason was due to “issues in the community.” He also eventually admits that his report was completed shortly after the IA report, which seems to contradict his initial answer about the number of witnesses causing the hold up.
At minute 7:45 of the recording from the 9/16 Community Input subcommittee meeting on the Fresno-CPR website:
Questioner: “That [London Wallace incident] happened I believe in January of 2019. Why was the turnaround so long on that one?”
Gliatta: “Because of the number of officers involved and the number of witnesses involved.”
It’s revealing that his first instinct when hit with a question like this is to further shield the police by answering deceptively.
It’s clear from reading OIR reports that the public perception of police is often at the forefront of Gliatta’s mind. In the Isiah Murriatta-Golding report from the first quarter of 2018, his recommendations include the suggestion that supervisors encourage officers to avoid using certain vocabulary like “hasty operation” in their reports that might have negative connotations to the public. One of his recently published recommendations (apparently in lieu of the Wallace findings) is that the police department make it easier for people to send them compliments.
While defending the role of his office in the subcommittee meetings, Gliatta painted an image of his work as the completely objective art of applying laws and policies to the evidence in front of him. But clearly there’s plenty of subjectivity involved in coming up with his recommendations, or decisions about when to best time the release of reports according to what he personally feels is the proper level of public criticism of police.
Instead of trying to puppet master public opinion, why not just release the facts and let people decide for themselves? Why is the independent investigator doing PR for the police department?