Jesse Paz of Fresno said he was having a conversation with one of the youth from the fitness club he’s a youth minister at, waiting for a bus at the FAX Station at Manchester Mall. Officer Ruiz approached the youth and told him he had to leave. Jesse said he told the youth “you better hurry up and go or else.”
That’s when officer Ruiz started harassing Jesse and told him he wouldn’t be allowed to catch his next bus. He would have to walk himself and his young daughter home in the Fresno heat. He would not be allowed access to public transportation, that he already purchased a ticket for, all because he said something that officer Ruiz didn’t like.
If Jesse’s story is truthful, then this behavior from officer Ruiz is nothing other than harassment and a deprivation of his rights under color of law. This affair should be investigated immediately and all details disclosed to the public.
Here’s what Jesse said happened:
Julisa had to go to my work with me today. I just clocked out and we caught the fax (Fresno Area Express) bus to Manchester Mall. I saw a youth from 701 United and started talking with him, when this Fresno Police officer Rudy Ruiz badge #P379 came up to tell the youth he had to go. That’s when I proceeded to tell the youth “you better hurry up and go or else….” implying that the officer would arrest him. Officer Ruiz proceeded to come up and harass me, telling me that I could not ride the bus although i had already purchased my and Julisa’s ride. Its hot, Julisa had to use the restroom and we were both very hungry.The officer could not tell me what I did wrong and why I could no longer ride the bus.
So I have called the department and asked to speak with his sergeant. Waiting on their call back. Julisa was scared because he literally walked us away from the bus station. He also threatened to take me down if I did not leave the premises. Can someone help me. We are in shock right now.”
UPDATE from Mike Rhodes with the Community Alliance Newspaper:
Seeking answers, I submitted a California Public Records Act request to the City of Fresno and Fresno Police Department seeking Ruiz’s body cam video and the incident report. I also reached out to Paz, who said he was not interested in doing media interviews.
The city took a long time, well past the 10 days mandated by the law to respond to a CPRA request, but they did eventually provide some detail about what happened before the Paz video began. In what the police call an “event report” Ruiz says that before the incident with Paz he had contacted two black men, one with a shopping cart and he asked if they were planning to catch the bus. The report says “They were not and were politely asked to leave property. Both subjects were cooperative and began to leave.”
The report continues, alleging that as the two men began to leave, a Hispanic male adult (HMA) and a young girl approached (presumably Paz and his daughter). Ruiz claimed Paz said, “watch yourselves, Bro. These motherfuckers just want to put you in chains.” Ruiz’s report says, “He continued cursing and carrying on about being an MMA fighter. . . I asked him to leave property due to his boisterous, unruly behavior. He initially refused and then complied.”
In the video that Paz recorded, he did not seem boisterous or unruly. In fact, he seemed amazingly calm, courteous and insisted on getting officer Ruiz to give him a reason why he was being prevented from taking the bus. When I talked to Paz, he was always polite and never cursed.
The obvious solution to how we can resolve this dilemma is by viewing the body cam video that officer Ruiz recorded. Whenever an FPD officer is going to interact with the public, the policy is for them to turn on their body cam. The body cam is clearly visible in the video recorded by Paz. This is why the City of Fresno has spent money on this new technology – to clear up incidents like this where the facts are unknown or there is a dispute of the facts.
In a response to my CPRA request, City of Fresno attorney Douglas Sloan did not release the video, saying the FPD “did not locate” the “body cam footage.” My sources, who have asked not to be identified, claim there was a malfunction with officer Ruiz’s body cam.
Larry Donaldson, a City of Fresno attorney who is the liaison with the FPD, called to tell me that CPRA requests do not apply to body cam footage. He would not confirm or deny a video existed of the encounter between officer Ruiz and Jesse Paz, but if it did they would only release it if they were issued a subpoena. Donaldson paused and added that another route to releasing the video would be if FPD chief Jerry Dyer released it. Dyer, he said, has the discretion to release body cam video.
————————————- READ THE WHOLE REPORT HERE ————————————-
That officer is meant to be a “public servant”!? What a joke!
This is from 2015, same police officer.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10153188879973489&id=665133488
We pay his salary
Instead of getting off the bus to talk to these “youths” he should have taken his daughter to the bathroom.
Fuck that cop I would have called 911 and told them I was being harassed by an officer and wanted to see his Sargent! Not doing nothing wrong dont harass me!
How is this in any way acceptable?? I’m sick of this ridiculous childish behavior from these people we’re supposed to deem community leaders…GTOof here. You can clearly tell in the officer’s voice that he is irritated, and the fact that he keeps standing there antsy putting. His hand in and out of his pocket. This man was clearly getting hot tempered. All based off what someone said?? How is that acceptable? If someone doesn’t even have enough respect for their position to not abused their authority then they should be terminated. I saw we file a petition to have this fucker removed.
Total authority in the hands of a person who is without ANY intentions of following the actual job description of his title can only be the result of decades of inhouse abuse of the same from his fellow officers, superiors, and the entire force as well as the courts. It takes a village right? Time to make your voices and you votes count. An election is always just around the corner.
This isn’t legal.He isn’t a judge and this man wasn’t given due process. Does anyone even question what police officers have the authority to do?
You have no “right” to ride the bus. The buses are City property, and if a Police Officer or Bus Driver says you can’t ride, you can’t ride.
That guy is on a total asinine power trip… I really hope that gentleman gets an attorney that can make sure that officer is properly suspended, and hopefully fired!!!
This officer is a court jester…what a clown ruiz!
I don’t understand why the man was denied access to the bus. Unless he was disturbing the peace, or acting in a threatening manner, he should have been left alone, especially since he had his young child with him. I don’t know the whole story. But from what I’ve seen in this post, this cop was out of line. He is lacking in proper public relations and ethics.
I wonder if he is friends with Foster!!!
Talk to a lawyer im sure they want your case…. dont stay down..have him suspended the least.
The sad thing is his daughter was with him and she needed to ho pee and she’ll probably hate cops for this one cop doing this
fuck the pigs and the shit they rode in on.
That guy who wrote this is full of shit.. Buy a car loser… Stop trying get attention
There was a situation in 1985, when , I the Ticket Agent at Trailways, called Police and ordered them to stand by for some violence, because I will not be allowing a ticket holder to ride a bus.
Tho the man looked calm at the time, he had just punched one of my sales agents in the face, with a sucker punch for no reason and with no warning. Then his just sat waiting for the bus.
I could not allow a potential disrupter to ride the bus, especially this one, that could just as easily, punched the defensless driver.
3 officers stood by, the bus departed, the man asked, “Was that my bus?” and the officer said “yes, but you were not allowed to board it.”
The man then attempted to sucker punch the cop, which was quickly ended with his face on the concrete and a year in jail.
With gain time for good behavior, he was out in 11 months. The Ticket was refundable for a year.
Upon his release, he was dropped at out terminal, refunded his ticket, and said; “Thank you, because, I could not afford Drug rehab, so I needed jail, to dry me out. And the Refundable bus ticket, was my Grub-stake, to get started again.”
It took a year to find out why, but it was worth the wait.
Keet 1 <3
I know this story is a month old, but does anyone know if is there any more updated info? Did he call his supervisor? Has he gotten an attorney?
Omg i feel so bad for them, the officer was totally in the wrong harassing them for nothing, i sure hope the officer gets in trouble he shouldnt be a police officer
This clown should be suspended.chicano on a power trip.sad im suer this aint the frist time
what an ass hole piece of shit
Maybe you should forward this to a news program in town. Also send a copy to Chief Dyer. I’m pretty sure this is a violation of your civil rights.
if the only response to why he couldn’t ride the bus was because i said so. that cop should lose his badge. and his pension. sorry but that is abuse of power
Polisis at it yet again
The idea that “if you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about” assumes that the government is full of good people that would not abuse their power, ever. Even if this were true now, we cannot be sure it’ll be true in the future. The US Republic was founded on the idea that humans are corruptible and we need to have checks and balances against corruption built into our government. Because corrupt people will oppress those who have done nothing wrong.
Not surprised ….not at all.
He is nothing but a bully! And a asshole!!!!!!
Power trip
why did you not tell him he can’t be on the streets to work . tell him he is not alaod on them
And this dick of a cop will get a medal for this!
cus I said so…yeah, AMERIKA, we are doomed
Last I knew it’s us drivers, choice not the police, unless the police felt the driver and or this person was a threat to maybe another passenger. Otherwise he can’t tell anyone he can’t ride a bus, he over stepped his place and into the drivers space.
That’s straight up police state.