FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Fresno’s Chief of Police releasing a statement Thursday after the Office of Independent Review report is also released, finding unreasonable police violence in the arrest of a black teenager.
The report is on the City of Fresno’s website.
17-year-old London Wallace was arrested in January of 2019.
His family sued the city saying the force used was “excessive.”
Independent auditor, John Gliatta agreed in some of the findings, but he initially held back the report because he was concerned it was too close to the death of George Wallace in Minnesota that spurred protects against police around the world.
Gliatta wrote that while Wallace initially resisted arrest Fresno Police Officer Christopher Martinez used “unreasonable” force against Wallace, and did not activate his body camera during the arrest.
Gliatta said Officer Martinez hit Wallace three times and kept throwing punches even afterwards.
It is my opinion punches four through seven were not within policy, however only the sixth punch actually made contact with the CP’s chin. The remaining punches made minimal contact with the CP and thus were inconsequential. I believe this portion of the allegation warranted a finding of sustained.
3. After the seventh punch O1 again attempted to take the CP to the ground in order to restrain him with handcuffs. At this point the CP switched from a defensive position to an aggressive position by resisting the efforts of the officers attempting to get him to the ground. The CP refused repeated commands to put his hands behind his back. The CP even used his right arm, which he broke free from the grips of the officers to grab onto the railing. It was obvious from the BWC the officers and the CP were very close to the railing. The threat of an officer or the CP going over the second floor railing was a concern. It is my opinion at this point the officers were justified of using whatever reasonable force was necessary to overcome the resistance being displayed by the CP. This right is afforded to the officers under FPD’s policy and Penal Code §835a.- OIR REPORT, John Gliatta.
The Fresno Police Dept. released the following statement Thursday:
Response to the Office of Independent Review Report
As Chief of Police of the Fresno Police Department, I am personally committed to the Department conducting thorough investigations and critical evaluations of all use of force incidents, including the incident involving London Wallace. The supplemental report from the Office of Independent Review (OIR) is an independent review of
the London Wallace incident. I give serious consideration to the OIR findings and recommendations. From this information, I determine the need for Department policy
changes, as well as, additional training needs for officers. While state law prohibits me from disclosing personnel decisions involving discipline or corrective action arising from use of force incidents, I can assure the community, appropriate action has been taken to address the level of force applied in the incident involving London Wallace. This investigation was also reviewed by the FBI and the Department of Justice and both agencies agreed with the investigation conducted by the Internal Affairs Bureau and the Department’s conclusions.
Andrew Hall
Chief of Police
Click to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
