The Exit That Was Not Retirement
** cleared out his desk last week. His official retirement date is June 19. But according to sources close to the city and the police department, Valdez was not retiring by choice.
San Fernando Police Chief Fabian Valdez has been forced out after four years of conflict with the police union. Retired Pasadena Chief John Perez, linked to two major settlements totaling $10.7 million, now oversees the department. City officials are not granting interviews.
** cleared out his desk last week. His official retirement date is June 19. But according to sources close to the city and the police department, Valdez was not retiring by choice.
City officials surprised San Fernando residents on June 5 with a news release announcing that Valdez would be "retiring." One week later, they congratulated him on a new appointment as director of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy. Mayor Joel Fajardo said the position "took months to vet."
People close to the chief say he was pushed out.
"Chief, I feel so sad. I don't know what happened," said Dolores Rodriguez, one of several local residents who spoke at a recent city council meeting. "What's going on? Why [such] short notice [about] your retirement? Wherever you go, God bless you. Thank you very much for all [that] you did for our city."
Valdez served as San Fernando Police Department chief for more than four years. During that time, he attempted to discipline officers and implement new policies. He faced consistent resistance from the department's union, the San Fernando Police Officers Association (POA).
While Valdez's departure remains shrouded in ambiguity, the city has already installed an interim overseer. John Perez, retired chief of the Pasadena Police Department, will help oversee police operations and assist in selecting a new chief, according to City Manager Kanika Kith.
Perez served 36 years with the Pasadena PD. He has been providing consulting services for the SFPD since last summer. His tenure in Pasadena ended amid controversy.
In 2020, Pasadena officers shot and killed Anthony McClain as he fled a traffic stop. The incident drew enormous backlash and resulted in a $7.5 million wrongful death settlement. Community members and local activists called for Perez's resignation.
In 2017, Pasadena officers arrested Christopher Ballew after violently beating him during a traffic stop. The city paid a $3.2 million settlement. Perez retired as Pasadena PD chief in early 2022.
Tensions erupted during a recent city council meeting. Mayor Fajardo, who is at the end of his term after deciding not to seek re-election, accused Councilmember Mary Solorio of demanding Valdez's removal.
"In order to try ... repeatedly to get the POA's endorsement, and at least [at] one of those meetings, she at least made the claim that [Valdez] needed to go," Fajardo said during the meeting.
Solorio denied the allegation.
"What a lie that is," Solorio shot back. "The politics that have been at play here are horrible, and I do believe that we're losing an incredible man, an incredible chief."
Solorio acknowledged attending an endorsement meeting with POA President and SFPD Officer Paul Ventimiglia and SFPD Det. Sgt. Pete Aguirre. She said the officers told her they wanted Valdez gone.
"They said, 'If the chief stays, all of us will quit,'" Solorio said. "I was very clear that the council doesn't fire [or hire] the chief. ... They were so adamant about me saying the words that I wanted him gone, [but] I didn't want that, so I didn't."
Solorio also revealed that a city employee warned her during the meeting.
"There is a lot of evil here – be careful," she said the employee told her.
City Manager Kanika Kith has declined several requests for interviews to clarify Perez's expanded role and explain how the department is being supervised during the transition. She referred reporters to Raul Riesgo of the Merino Group, a public relations company.
Public records show the city contracted the Merino Group in February for $55,000 for one year of public relations services. The city claimed it could not afford such an expense in previous years.
At this week's city council meeting, Perez sat in Valdez's chair next to Kith in the council chambers.
Kith said in an email Monday that as the hiring process moves forward and "interim leadership is in place, the city will provide updates on department operations and next steps."
The San Fernando Police Department has been rife with conflict for years. Valdez described the department he inherited in 2022 as "fractured."
"I made the assumption that the culture [here] was ready for change ... but I had underestimated the fracture, the hurt and the culture," Valdez told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol in a previous interview.
Sources close to the department say Valdez was hired by former City Administrator Nick Kimball specifically because Kimball wanted an outsider to break the department's negative culture. Once Kimball left, Valdez lost his support.
During his final address to the council, Valdez was emotional.
"It's difficult to say goodbye to a community and department that I love," Valdez said. "I have nothing but gratitude and respect for this community. Though I may be retiring from my position, I will always carry this community, the lessons learned and the department with me."
The search for a permanent replacement has begun. The timeline remains unclear. City officials are not commenting.
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This article was generated with AI assistance.