What's at stake:
Thursday’s announcement follows Casto leading the police department in an interim capacity for about seven months, following the resignation of former police Chief Paco Balderrama.
After a four-month search for the next leader of Fresno’s police department, city officials on Thursday named interim Chief Mindy Casto to the top post.
Casto is Fresno’s 24th police chief, and also the first woman in the role. She held the position in an interim capacity for about seven months, since former police Chief Paco Balderrama resigned in June amid scandal.
Mayor Jerry Dyer and City Manager Georgeanne White made the announcement during an early-morning news conference at City Hall. Casto was selected for the role out of three finalists — a small group whittled down from the initial 14 applicants.
“The first thing I want to do is just express my appreciation to this community to serve as your chief,” Casto said at the news conference. “Fresno has been a great place to work. It’s a great place to be a police officer. That’s largely due to the community and support that we get from the people who live and work here.”
Casto’s executive staff contract and salary in her new permanent chief position were not immediately available.
Casto has worked for the Fresno Police Department since 1997, and through those years, she said she doesn’t have a single regret. Casto was promoted to a sergeant in 2003 and a lieutenant in 2015.
In 2018, she was promoted to a commander, overseeing an entire district. In 2022, Casto was promoted to deputy chief under Balderrama.
“I can’t remember a week that has gone by where a member of the police department or a member of the community hasn’t reached out to me and encouraged me to appoint Mindy Casto as a permanent police chief,” Dyer said.
Casto said it was never her plan to become police chief, but said it was “God’s plan,” and that’s why she was standing there today. She went on to thank her husband, Steve, who is a Fresno police sergeant. She also thanked Dyer, as he presided over all but one of her promotions while police chief for 18 years.
“For so many years, I learned so much,” Casto said of Dyer. “I’ve memorized many of his leadership principles, and hope to be half the chief that he was during his time at our department.”
In response to a question at the news conference, Casto said she hasn’t looked in the rearview mirror in her months as interim chief, referring to Balderrama’s scandal.
Balderrama resigned last summer after city officials investigated him for having an affair with the wife of Fresno police officer Jordan Wamhoff. Wamhoff was formerly a vice president of the police union and became an elected Madera County supervisor in 2023.
The announcement Thursday put a close to the city’s police chief search, which began in October. White, Fresno’s city manager, said the city worked with Public Sector Search and Consulting, Inc. for the police chief search process.
No current or former police chief in California applied for the role, White said. She added that Casto distinguished herself in the interview process.
Dyer also shared some of the advice he gave Casto a few days ago about taking risks and making decisions.
“If she takes a risk, and it’s with the right motives, we’ll be there to support her even when that risk doesn’t turn out so well,” Dyer said at the news conference. “And never make a decision to keep her job. That’s going to be vital. Do not make a decision simply to keep your job. Do not worry about that — we support her as our chief.”
Casto added that she has never felt disadvantaged being a woman at the Fresno Police Department, speaking highly of its internal culture. She said she hopes her presence as Fresno’s police chief can encourage people from all walks of life to become a police officer.
“I don’t need to really highlight it,” Casto said. “I think just being here as a female serves as an obviously strong message that women can do this job.”
Comments are closed.