What's at stake:
Jordan Wamhoff, a Fresno police officer and elected supervisor in Madera County, is pushing for the resignation of Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama, who allegedly had an affair with Wamhoff's wife.
In a series of texts to a high-ranking city official, Fresno police officer Jordan Wamhoff said he would not take legal action against the City of Fresno if Police Chief Balderrama were to resign within 30 days.
Fresnoland independently verified a Thursday report from local NPR-affiliate KVPR, which first identified Wamhoff as the police officer whose wife had an affair with Balderrama, along with Wamhoff’s terms to city officials.
Besides calling for Balderrama’s resignation, Wamhoff, who is also a Madera County Supervisor, pushed for a flexible position at the Fresno Police Department and proposed a nondisclosure agreement if a deal was reached.
Fresnoland reviewed a series of text messages between Wamhoff and a high-ranking city official, who requested anonymity out of concerns of possible police retaliation.
Wamhoff did not immediately respond to Fresnoland’s request for comment. Attorney Brian Whelan, who represents Wamhoff, also did not respond to a request for comment.
Just last week, the City of Fresno placed Balderrama on paid administrative leave for the duration of an ongoing city investigation into an “inappropriate off-duty relationship” with a Fresno police officer’s wife.
Balderrama declined to comment.
In order to interview Wamhoff, KVPR reported that Whelan tried to require its reporters to sign a legal agreement that would bar the disclosure of Wamhoff’s name and allow him to review the forthcoming story and make changes prior to publication.
KVPR did not agree to Whelan’s terms and did not get to interview Wamhoff.
That type of legal arrangement is “just unheard of in journalism,” said Jim Boren, executive director for the Fresno State Institute for Media and Trust and the former executive editor of The Fresno Bee.
“It’s not something journalists do — allowing sources to review and edit a story prior to publication,” Boren told Fresnoland.
The police union criticized KVPR for publishing Wamhoff’s name in a Thursday story, calling it unethical even though Wamhoff is an elected official on the Madera County Board of Supervisors and a Fresno police officer.
The union proceeded to praise The Fresno Bee for not publishing Wamhoff’s name in a story, thanking the newspaper for its “consideration and discretion.” The Fresno Bee eventually published a story about Wamhoff and his terms to city officials late Friday afternoon.
The police union did not respond to Fresnoland’s request for comment.
Wamhoff has been a Fresno police officer for more than a decade. In 2022, he won a bid for county supervisor representing District 1 in Madera County.
Fresnoland editor Danielle Bergstrom contributed to this story.
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