Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

2 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

2 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

2 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

2 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

3 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

3 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

3 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

3 days ago
Fresno Police Chief Search Team Will Include 3 Councilmen
Bill McEwen updated website photo 2024
By Bill McEwen, News Director
Published 6 years ago on
November 7, 2019

Share

Fresno Mayor Lee Brand has blessed a request that the city council have a larger role in the search for Andy Hall’s successor as police chief.
The compromise forged by the mayor and councilman Nelson Esparza comes amid lingering controversy about Hall’s appointment after the retirement of longtime chief Jerry Dyer last month.


Listen to this article:


Hall never applied for the job and, with more than 40 years in the department, must retire by spring 2021.
City Hall also is dealing with community criticism stemming from a video released last month showing an officer fatally shooting a fleeing teen in the back of the head.
Photo of Nelson Esparza
“My goal in introducing (the Chief Selection Accountability Act) was to give the city council and the communities we represent a voice in the selection of the police chief. I believe that our resolution to add three city councilmembers to the interview panels achieves that goal. For that reason, I have withdrawn my resolution.” — city councilman Nelson Esparza

Brand, Esparza Issue Joint Statement

Brand and Esparza issued a joint news release Thursday morning about selecting the next police chief — which Brand has vowed to do before his term expires in January 2021.
“Councilmember Esparza and I have discussed these issues in great detail and based on these conversations, I have decided to add three city councilmembers to the first-round interview panels when we are selecting the next police chief,” Brand said.
There will be three panels and each will have seven members: community representatives, law enforcement experts, and one councilman.
“My goal in introducing (the Chief Selection Accountability Act) was to give the city council and the communities we represent a voice in the selection of the police chief,” Esparza said. “I believe that our resolution to add three city councilmembers to the interview panels achieves that goal. For that reason, I have withdrawn my resolution.”
Brand said that all panel members must sign non-disclosure agreements. The agreements forbid panelists from revealing the identities of the candidates or discussing what transpires during the interviews.

Esparza, Karbassi, Arias on Panels

Esparza will serve on a panel, as will councilmen Mike Karbassi and Miguel Arias. Esparza will be the lone councilman to participate in the second round of interviews.

Photo of Mike Karbassi
“They must choose one of the candidates interviewed. If they don’t like the candidates, then we will bring on more until the panels and mayor can agree on a successful candidate.” — city councilman Mike Karbassi
“My disappointment on the previous process is clear,” Arias said. “I am hopeful that this is a step in the right direction that will lead us to selecting a permanent police chief that will serve all of Fresno.”
Karbassi said that while he was “honored to be part of the process,” he would insist that a new chief be named.
“They must choose one of the candidates interviewed, “Karbassi said. “If they don’t like the candidates, then we will bring on more until the panels and mayor can agree on a successful candidate.”
Technically, the selection is made by the mayor and city manager, but the city council has increasingly flexed its political muscle lately in Fresno’s strong-mayor style of government.

Dyer, Janz Want to Pick Next Chief

The police chief search is complicated by the fact that Andrew Janz and Dyer, who are vying to become the next mayor, have said the winner of their race should pick Fresno’s next top cop.
Janz has said that the police department should be led next by someone with experience outside of Fresno. Dyer’s position is that the best candidate will emerge from Fresno PD’s ranks. And Hall says that his goal is to train one or more candidates from his command staff to take over when he leaves.
Janz said that Fresno is paying excessive amounts of money to settle court cases involving the police department. Dyer has defended the department, saying its record is as good or better than comparably sized California cities.
Voters will go to the polls in March 2020. If neither Dyer nor Janz garners majority support, there would be a November run-off.
Brand said that he selected Hall because he was dissatisfied with the quality or, in some cases, the experience of the candidates produced by a national search.
Law enforcement experts say that because Brand is a lame-duck mayor, this next search effort also could produce a dearth of highly qualified candidates.
 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

UP NEXT

Trump Impounds Billions in Education Funding. For Fresno Unified, It’s $7.1 Million

UP NEXT

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

UP NEXT

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

UP NEXT

Poorest Americans Dealt Biggest Blow Under Senate Republican Tax Package

UP NEXT

Check Out Newest Downtown Mural. It’s a Spectacular Tribute to Fresno Artisans

UP NEXT

Dear Mayor and City Council, Fresno’s Housing Bottlenecks Are a Modern Form of Redlining

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Americans Say National Divide, Political Violence Threaten Democracy

UP NEXT

Trump Pulls Back 150 Guard Troops From Federal Duties in California

UP NEXT

Fresno Unified’s Embattled Nikki Henry Exits. ‘I Own My Mistake. I Won’t Let It Own Me.’

Bill McEwen,
News Director
Bill McEwen is news director and columnist for GV Wire. He joined GV Wire in August 2017 after 37 years at The Fresno Bee. With The Bee, he served as Opinion Editor, City Hall reporter, Metro columnist, sports columnist and sports editor through the years. His work has been frequently honored by the California Newspapers Publishers Association, including authoring first-place editorials in 2015 and 2016. Bill and his wife, Karen, are proud parents of two adult sons, and they have two grandsons. You can contact Bill at 559-492-4031 or at Send an Email

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

2 days ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

2 days ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

2 days ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

2 days ago

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

2 days ago

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

2 days ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

2 days ago

Russia Pounds Kyiv With Largest Drone Attack, Hours After Trump-Putin Call

2 days ago

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

2 days ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Can you hear it — that loud roar coming from the East? It’s the sound of 1.4 billion Chinese laughing at us. Thomas L. Friedman The New Yo...

17 hours ago

Solar Farm in Riesel, Texas
17 hours ago

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

Caitlin Clark Signs T-Shirt
17 hours ago

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

The Madre Fire burning near New Cuyama has scorched 70,801 acres as of Friday, July 4, 2025, afternoon, making it California’s largest wildfire of the year, with only 10% containment and multiple evacuation zones in place. (CalFire)
2 days ago

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

2 days ago

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

A pumpjack operates at the Vermilion Energy site in Trigueres, France, June 14, 2024. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

Palestinians gather to collect what remains of relief supplies from the distribution center of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 5, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 days ago

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

Billy Wayne Sinisgalli, a 54-year-old transient known locally as Wayne, was found dead along a rural Fresno road Wednesday in what authorities are investigating as a suspicious death. (Fresno County SO)
2 days ago

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend