Fresno police employee arrested on child porn-related charge. He’s been fired, chief says

An employee of the Fresno Police Department was arrested on Friday, charged with felony possession of child pornography.

The 49-year-old, identified as Jose M. Gonzalez, was taken into custody by detectives from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at his home in Orange Cove. He was booked into Fresno County Jail and according to a statement from the Fresno Police Department “removed from his employment with the City of Fresno.”

“All employees of the Fresno Police Department, both sworn and professional, are entrusted with the safety of our community,” Chief Paco Balderrama said in the statement.

“We take this responsibility very seriously and thoroughly investigate all allegations of misconduct. The allegations against Gonzalez warranted the investigation by our law enforcement partners with ICAC and the initial criminal findings justify our decision to remove him from employment.”

The firing was done with approval of the Fresno city manager.

Gonzalez had been employed with the department since 2016 and was working as a clerk in the records section.