Community Alliance

By Richard Stone

Rick Rasmussen, our Man in the O.I.R. (Office of Independent Review), has been on the job for about four months and has filed his first report. I met with him to discuss the impact of his work.

Rasmussen continues in a half-time capacity through June, when both he and the City of Fresno will review their options. His main task to date has been to review the findings of the Fresno Police Department’s Internal Affairs (IA) on every complaint filed against the police. He also reviewed a backlog of cases from before his hiring and checked …[Read the details]

By Mike Rhodes

Many progressive groups in the Fresno area are demanding police accountability. This press conference, organized by the Mexican American Political Association (MAPA), was held in front of the Fresno Police Department (FPD) headquarters during the Steven Vargas trial. Attorney Daniel Luna presented an amicus brief in support of Steven Willis, another person shot and killed by the FPD.

In early September 2011, the Community Alliance newspaper, through a California Public Records Act request, asked the Fresno Police Department (FPD) for its Policies and Procedures manuals. FPD Public Information Officer …[Read the details]