Tag: new chief

An open letter to the new Chico police chief

Gold: 'Change the culture of police violence'
by George Gold | Posted December 22, 2022

photo by Leslie Layton
Billy Aldridge was a captain at Chico Police Department and was promoted to chief on Dec. 20.

I’m afraid to live in Chico. Not because I might be mugged, not because I might get shot in a carjacking, but I am worried that on any given day I could be shot by someone representing our police department.

Rather than budgetary increases for the much needed road repairs all over Chico, rather than funds to help those of us who may live without a home, rather than funds to provide more robust care for many of the mental health challenges we know are coursing through our communities every day, our City Council keeps approving more and more money for tactical and military-style weapons for the police. More than 50% of the City of Chico’s budget ends up on the police department balance sheet. read more

Picking Chico’s police chief slowed by Covid-19

Reformist citizens group says it represents broad spectrum
by Dave Waddell | Posted June 25, 2020

photo by Karen Laslo
Emily Alma, coordinator of a police reform group that was wrongly accused of political disruption and now has support from a host of mainstream groups.

Two years ago, the Chico Enterprise-Record’s conservative editorial writers – without a shred of cited evidence – suggested in an editorial that members of the police reform group Concerned Citizens for Justice (CC4J) were involved in political disruption and vandalism.

Leaders of CC4J fired back in letters that questioned the responsibility of the E-R’s brand of journalism.

The E-R’s portrayal of CC4J as an extremist group was as short-lived as it was baseless. In fact, today CC4J’s push for Chico to pick a reformer as police chief to succeed Mike O’Brien is attracting support from numerous organizations lodged securely in Chico’s mainstream. read more