Tag Archives: Police

The California Reporting Project has been gathering police misconduct files from departments around the state, including Bakersfield. The collaboration, which includes dozens of newsrooms including KVPR, is developing a web tool that will allow community members to explore misconduct files. They are also seeking feedback from the public to enhance …

Last summer’s reckoning over police brutality against Black people, led both Fresno and Bakersfield to establish commissions of community members, charged with making recommendations for reform. Valley Edition Host Kathleen Schock checked in with some of the activists involved to see how the work is going, and to hear their …

A s residents call for cities to defund police departments, some parents and students want the same in their school districts. The Kern High School District board is voting on its annual budget Monday and ahead of that meeting, community organizers have been circulating a petition to defund the district’s …

It’s been one month since the death of George Floyd and communities across the country are debating the reallocation of funding from law enforcement agencies to social services. But in Bakersfield this week, the city council voted to increase its police budget and hire more officers. The funding came from …

The City of Fresno announced the 37 members of the new Police Reform Commission Friday. The city council, mayor, and mayor-elect all committed to taking the recommendations seriously. The commission’s roster includes Fresno State NAACP president D’Aungillique Jackson, retired judge Robert Oliver and representatives from non-profits, religious organizations, and law …

Following more than a week of protests over the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, debate continues within the African-American community about how to bring about reform in policing. To learn more about how different generations are responding to this moment, FM89’s Kathleen Schock spoke with Pastor Angelo Frazier …

More than a hundred people gathered at an elementary school on Friday in Madera to protest police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death. The people behind the protest were black high school students. Eighteen-year-old Mary Idowu led the protest which started with a “No Justice, No Peace” chant. …

In two separate incidents this weekend, cars intentionally drove into pedestrians at rallies protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man murdered by Minneapolis police. In Bakersfield Friday night, around 300 people gathered in front of the city’s police department, holding signs and rallying peacefully. Ana Cornejo, a grade …

Former Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer will be the city’s next mayor, according to Wednesday afternoon’s election results from Fresno County. In a press conference before City Hall Wednesday, Dyer reiterated his wish to unite the city, and create “One Fresno,” which was his campaign slogan. In his remarks, Dyer …

Fresno Police announced today that they have arrested six suspects related to the November 17 mass shooting at a house party in Southeast Fresno that left four men dead. Although police confirmed the shooting was gang related, none of the victims themselves were gang members. The six arrested are Billy …

At a press conference following the mass shooting that killed four and wounded six others in Southeast Fresno, Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall announced he had created an Asian gang task force, despite no definitive evidence the shooting was gang-related. Many members of Southeast Asian communities have since questioned why …

Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer has appointed Lyle Martin to be her Chief Investigator. Martin has been the Chief of Bakersfield Police since 2016, and has worked for the department for more than 30 years. Martin announced his retirement as police chief on the department’s Facebook page in a …

Two videos that surfaced this week of a Fresno police officer shooting a 16-year-old boy in the back of the head have caused local and national outrage. “We have to reform our policing system to end the ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ mentality that ends far too many black & …