Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama, who had been beneath investigation since February following allegations he had an affair with an officer’s spouse, resigned Tuesday morning.
Metropolis officers introduced that the investigation had been accomplished and that Balderrama had submitted his resignation, efficient July 25, which they’ve accepted. The town will start a nationwide search to seek out his alternative.
“We do consider this resignation by the chief is in one of the best curiosity of the neighborhood, the police division, and our workers, in addition to for Chief Balderrama and the households concerned, given the extraordinary media scrutiny that this matter has obtained on the native, state and federal ranges,” Mayor Jerry Dyer stated Tuesday at a press convention. “On this specific case, it will have been much more tough for Chief Balderrama to have the ability to keep that belief of his officers and the neighborhood.”
Balderrama knowledgeable the mayor and metropolis supervisor in February that “an allegation would probably be made in opposition to him associated to an inappropriate off-duty relationship he was concerned in,” based on a written assertion launched by town.
Balderrama was positioned on administrative go away, and metropolis lawyer Andrew Janz stated town employed an out of doors lawyer to deal with the investigation “to keep away from any look of bias or impropriety.”
In a press release issued by town, Balderrama stated that serving as Fresno police chief “has actually been the privilege of a lifetime.”
“I need to thank the administration for giving me this chance. The women and men of the Fresno Police Division are second to none,” he stated within the assertion. “The individuals of Fresno are lovely, numerous, and really supportive of their police division. Even by my most tough trials you’ve got been form, forgiving, and uplifting. Thanks for being there for me.”
The information had ignited what metropolis officers referred to as a “media circus” and hypothesis concerning the alleged affair. Among the many allegations made in opposition to the previous chief was that he abused his place of authority to impede the profession trajectory of the officer whose spouse he was purportedly concerned with. Metropolis supervisor Georgeanne White disputed that allegation Tuesday. The town has not named the officer.
“Whereas I can’t get into the specifics of the investigation, I’m able to state that this allegation was not sustained, and proof on the contrary was offered,” White stated. “I noticed time after time that obtained repeated and listed as a truth, and talked about as a truth. And that was not true. Proof offered, not true.”
Dyer, who’s a former Fresno police chief, praised Balderrama. The outgoing chief, who served for about three years, curbed violent crime, Dyer stated, superior the know-how utilized by the division and recruited greater than 300 officers and dispatchers to the company.
“I believe he did some exceptional issues as a police chief in Fresno, and we must always not neglect about that, as we acknowledge the indiscretion that he had, involving himself with a police officer’s spouse. That isn’t excusable,” Dyer stated. “However we additionally don’t need to neglect a few of the good issues that he did.”
Balderrama started his profession in Oklahoma Metropolis, at age 22. He served within the Oklahoma Metropolis Police Division for 22 years, based on his biography web page. He was sworn in as Fresno’s police chief in January, 2021.
