Detective who violated policy in off-duty Fresno crash avoided discipline, audit says. Why?

A police detective who violated Fresno Police Department policies was never disciplined because officials did not get around to doing it before the deadline passed — and they appeared to miss a third violation — according to a recently released independent report.

The detective was not identified in the quarterly Office of Independent Review report but it says an Internal Affairs investigation found the detective was violating two policies by being at fault in a collision and for driving a department vehicle off duty on June 10, 2023.

The internal investigation was complete on March 7, but the detective was not disciplined, the independent review found.

Officers must receive a letter of an agency's intent to discipline within a year of the discovery of an allegation of misconduct, according to the Peace Officers Bill of Rights . If the agency misses the deadline, the officer cannot be disciplined or denied a promotion based on the misconduct.

The independent review also found the detective was driving with his fiancé in the car, which is another violation. His fiancé was a city employee but did not work for the police department.

The quarterly reports are written by former FBI agent and Independent Reviewer John Gliatta, who wrote that he brought the issue in question to the attention of interim Police Chief Mindy Casto during a routine meeting in July.

"I explained the concern of allowing the one-year toll to pass without imposing discipline may set a precedence for other officers involved in accidents, and the misuse of a department vehicle," he wrote in the report.

The department declined to comment on the issue when asked by The Bee on Thursday, citing personnel issues, according to a spokesperson.

The deadline for the fumbled disciplinary action came at a turbulent time for the police department, landing on June 10, two days before former Chief Paco Balderrama was placed on leave for an affair with another officer's wife.

He had been under investigation since February , city officials said.

Casto was named to the acting police chief position on June 12, and took over the interim chief spot on July 25 following Balderrama's resignation.

The audit said Casto took the reviewer's concerns about missing the deadline and the misuse of police vehicles under review.

"Shortly thereafter Chief Casto explained what steps she had taken to ensure this oversight would not occur again," Gliatta wrote in his report. "Due to this being a personnel matter the specific actions are protected by the (Peace Officers Bill of Rights) and not permitted for public dissemination."

Fresno police officers disciplined The third quarter saw 20 instances of discipline for officers, which did not include any terminations. Ten were suspended, five were given letters of reprimand and five more were ordered to undergo training, the review says.

Eight officer-involved crashes reviewed in the audit found an officer to be at fault each time.

In the six cases of discourteous treatment by an officer for the latest quarter, the reviewer found at least one violation per incident, the report says. There were multiple accusations of misconduct in most of those cases.

Four officers during the last quarter were also found to have violated policy over personnel or performance matters.

Officer-involved shootings The report also completed two reviews of incidents in which officers shot suspects — one a man who was killed and the other a teen who survived.

The reviewer found both shootings to be within policy.

Police have said the 15-year-old did not listen to commands from a police officer as the boy reached for a BB gun that looked like a Glock handgun — similar to what many cops carry — before he was shot by the officer about 10:30 a.m. July 30, 2023, near Blackstone and Magill avenues.

The teen, who was never named publicly, was taken to an area hospital and survived, according to police.

In the other police shooting case, multiple officers fired at Maximiliano "Max" Sosa Jr., 33, killing him during a confrontation around 5 a.m. Nov. 4, 2023, outside of an apartment on Dante Avenue near Bullard Avenue and Golden State Boulevard.