Courts Side With ACLU, Ordering Fresno Police to Release K-9 Records

Two courts have ruled against the City of Fresno in its effort to withhold police K-9 records from the ACLU, placing City Council President Nelson Esparza at the center of a decision that could reshape public oversight of the department's canine operations.

The ACLU of Southern California filed a public records request with the city in 2023, seeking completed use-of-force reports, canine bite and injury records, and all documentation related to subsequent investigations. When Fresno responded with heavily redacted documents, the organization filed a writ in April 2024. Both courts that reviewed the dispute sided with the ACLU, finding the records disclosable under the California Public Records Act.

"Fresno instead decided that it wasn't going to produce records, or if it did, it produced heavily redacted records. And so that was the crux of the challenge," said Angelica Salceda, a Fresno County-based program director with the ACLU of Northern California.

Salceda framed the request as part of a broader effort to compile data on police K-9 use across California law enforcement and address concerns about disproportionate canine force against communities of color.

Esparza described the matter as a technical issue and said he would rely on internal experts before committing to a path forward. The council is set to take up the question in a closed-session meeting.

The stakes on both paths are concrete. Compliance would expose the frequency and circumstances of K-9 deployments and bite incidents to public and advocacy scrutiny, potentially informing calls for training reforms. Continued litigation would mean additional municipal spending and a prolonged shield over records that two courts have already determined the public has a right to see.