Fresno car show photos draw scrutiny for cops, firefighters
FRESNO – Pictures featuring Fresno police officers and firefighters posing with scantily clad women have lead the Fresno Police Department to launch an investigation to determine whether the public safety officers crossed the line.
The photos were taken June 8 during the Show and Shine Car and Bike Show outside of Aldos’ Nightclub on Belmont Avenue across from Roeding Park.
In one photo, three Fresno police officers are standing with a model in a bikini in front of a patrol car. A similar photo shows two police officers with three bikini-clad models. In another photo, two women are sitting on a firefighter’s lap on the back of a fire truck, with five more women standing around them, some only in swimsuits.
The photos were taken by Sal Hernandez and posted on his website, ClubFlys.com. His business specializes in nightlife and event photography in the Central Valley. The photos were among approximately 180 others that were taken at the car show.
City Manager Mark Scott said that if the photos are real, “it would involve a clear violation of Fresno’s public safety agencies’ ethical and professional standards, and we will deal with them through our existing personnel practices.”
The controversial photos involving the police officers and firefighters were taken down from ClubFlys.com on June 10 at the request of public safety officials.
“An internal affairs investigation has been initiated to determine the circumstances surrounding these photographs, as well as the conduct of the officers involved,” said police Chief Jerry Dyer.
