FRESNO, CA – The City of Fresno Office of Independent Review’s report for the second quarter of 2018 is now available on the City’s website. Fresno's police auditor is officially called the Office of Independent Review. The Office of Independent Review provides a neutral, third-party review of police policies, procedures, strategies, and internal investigations.
The report, compiled by Independent Reviewer John A. Gliatta, covers the period from April 1, 2018 through June 30, 2018.
Gliatta worked as a crime Analyst for the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division. Before that he spent 27 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He also served as assistant inspector of the Inspection Division at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he handled compliance inspections as well as investigations of Special Agent-involved shootings and internal affairs allegations. He also coordinated training to ensure investigations and tactical operations adhered to current legal guidelines.
The first auditor, Eddie Aubrey, held as short tenure position from 2009-2011, until new 2012 auditor Rick Rasmussen filled the position for the next five years. The current police auditor, Gliatta, started in 2017.
"We met with Rasmussen on a regular basis as well," explained community activist Larry Johnson who is a part of a police watch-dog community group. "He came to regard us as an unofficial community oversight board. We asked him a lot of tough questions. He never flinched and always gave us straight answers. He was critical of many FPD practices and made quite a few recommendations that ended up being adopted. He focused a lot on officer involved shootings (OIS).
Johnson explained that during Rasmussen's tenure there was a significant reduction in the number of OIS and also the number of shots fired during OIS was dramatically reduced., which he feels came about in part because of changes in police training that Rasmussen had recommended.
"So who audits the auditor? We do... Someone has to hold the auditor’s feet to the fire, and we are the ones with the experience to do that," said Johnson.
Johnson and other members of the community participate in the annual conferences of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement (NACOLE), where they learn what other communities are doing to keep tabs on their police departments and get new ideas for how to improve oversight in Fresno.
The second quarter of 2018 report, as well as other information on the Office of Independent Review, is available on the Office’s section of the City’s website at http://www.fresno.gov/oir.