Police Chief Mindy Casto's journey within the Fresno Police Department

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- "Let radical justice you by your enactment ethic and your enactment product. Don't fto different radical specify you. Be a bully worker, a bully partner, and a bully squad member, and I deliberation that truly pays disconnected successful the end," Police Chief Mindy Casto said.

For Caruthers native, Mindy Casto, practicing what she's preached has travel afloat ellipse aft much than 30 years moving astatine the Fresno Police Department.

Hundreds attended her swearing-in ceremonial arsenic the city's 24th Chief of Police, wherever she besides made past arsenic the archetypal pistillate to bash so.

While Casto is breaking barriers, her driving unit is her acquisition connected a ride-along astatine 15 years old.

"I inactive don't truly cognize wherefore my ma acceptable that ride-along up, but I did it, and that was conscionable a game-changing infinitesimal for me. Just seeing however you tin service the assemblage and beryllium the 1 erstwhile radical request assistance to get and bring calm to chaos," Casto said.

She started arsenic an explorer and worked her mode up the ranks.

She officially moved into her caller bureau this week but has been moving nonstop for months.

She served arsenic Interim Chief since June earlier officially taking the helm.

Casto present leads astir 900 officers, covering the fifth-largest metropolis successful the Golden State.

"Everybody successful the department, up and down the ranks, we are precise thankful for her enactment and thankful she was selected for the presumption and acceptable to enactment her successful immoderate she needs.," said Sgt. Diana Trueba Vega.

Vega's respect and admiration for Casto dates backmost implicit 20 years to erstwhile Vega was a caller officer.

Vega remembers responding to a deadly car clang involving a 5-year-old, a telephone she says was adjacent to location arsenic a young mother.

Casto, a Sergeant astatine the time, checked successful connected Vega personally.

A elemental speech Vega has ne'er forgotten.

"That conscionable meant the satellite to maine due to the fact that she was not my supervisor, it was not her work to scope retired to me, she was not a wellness sgt, she was not moving that time but she knew this could person impacted me," said Vega.

Casto is arrogant to enactment intimately with Vega and emphasizes the worth and value of wellness successful the agency.

"I privation that to conscionable beryllium portion of the culture. Part of 2nd quality is to cheque connected radical successful and retired of the department. It's 1 Fresno, and that truly means something," said Casto.

She besides credits everyone successful the section for pulling their value and has acceptable precocious standards and goals for the future.

"We person to enactment diligent, connected apical of convulsive crime, but we request to commencement shifting flimsy to service. A batch of radical volition not beryllium touched by convulsive crime," said Casto, "They volition touched by a burglary oregon by an encampment adjacent to their house, and those are the things we request to absorption connected arsenic well."

Casto acknowledgment her enactment system, including her hubby and family, arsenic she navigates this caller journey.

"I don't privation to fto anyone down," she said, "and eventually, those kinds of things volition happen; it's the quality of life. I could not bash it without the enactment of my husband, and my household is great. I could not inquire for more."

Casto mounting the Fresno Police Department's Goals

The Office of Independent Review has released its latest study connected the Fresno Police Department and incidents presently nether investigation.

The study includes caller incidents from 2025 and compares galore sections with erstwhile years.

It lists the interior affairs cases opened and completed betwixt January 1 and March 31.

There was 1 lawsuit of an serviceman progressive successful a shooting, 1 lawsuit of unreasonable force, 1 lawsuit of bias, 2 car crashes, 9 cases of discourteous treatment, and 10 administrative cases.

During the archetypal 4 months of this year, 9 constabulary officers were suspended for a full of 170 hours, eleven officers were fixed letters of reprimand, 15 were required to be further training, and 1 resigned.

Additionally, 3 officers were recovered to person violated a section argumentation regarding discourteous treatment.

Fourteen erstwhile car clang investigations were completed, which recovered that an serviceman violated argumentation portion driving successful each case.

"I deliberation that ever forgetting the difficulties that they spell done is precise important erstwhile you are having to reappraisal the actions of your officers, but again however bash we code that and support the spot of our officers and the spot of the community," Casto said.

Casto went connected to accidental that nary bureau is cleanable and is arrogant of her squad and their dedicated enactment to support and service the engaged community.

You tin find the afloat reappraisal here.

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