Jerry P. Dyer (born May 3, 1959) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer. He is the 26th and current

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. Previously, he served as the

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boa ...

of the

Fresno Police Department The Fresno Police Department (FPD) is the municipal police department for Fresno, California. Their headquarters is located at 2323 Mariposa Mall. Paco Balderama is the current Chief of Police for the Fresno Police Department since January 11, 2 ...

Life and career

Dyer was born in Fresno to Donald Dyer and Anna Rackley on May 3, 1959. The Dyers relocated to

Fowler, California Fowler (formerly, Fowler's Switch) is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. It is located within the San Joaquin Valley. It has a strong agricultural community, with lush grape vineyards and expansive farmland. Fowler is located so ...

, in 1964. He attended and graduated from Fowler High School in 1977. While in high school, Dyer played on the varsity football, baseball, and basketball teams. After high school, Dyer joined the

College of the Sequoias College of the Sequoias (COS) is a public two-year community college in Visalia, California. The college is named for the Giant Sequoia trees native to the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range. History College of the Sequoias was originally esta ...

police officer training academy and was sworn in as an officer of the

on May 1, 1979, under then Police Chief George K. Hansen. Later his father and sister, Diana, would join Jerry in at the Fresno Police Department with his father previously serving in the Madera County Sheriffs Department. He served as a police officer in the Fresno Police Department for 22 years while rising through the ranks before being named chief of police in 2001.https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article238042004.html In 1985, Dyer was alleged to be involved in an extra-marital relationship with a 16 year old minor. The accusations were never made public, and internal investigations led to no criminal charges against Dyer. According to an anonymous police source, Dyer admitted to having sex with the minor. In a 2001 Fresno Bee interview, Dyer refused to talk about the allegations, replying, “All I can tell you is that the relationships that I have had outside of my marriage, when I was a young man, have been dealt with. ... God’s forgiven me. My wife’s forgiven me. This department’s forgiven me and looked into a lot of things in my past.” In 2001, deputy chiefs Robert Nevarez and Sharon Shaffer filed a lawsuit against Dyer. He was accused of creating a hostile work environment in the Fresno Police Department through making several racially and sexually insensitive comments. Fresno City Hall settled the lawsuit, paying $200,000 collectively to Nevarez and Shaffer. Dyer also was questioned by the media for neglectful supervision of his chief deputy who was convicted in 2017 of conspiring to distribute heroin and marijuana of which Dyer claimed he was unaware. Dyer served as police chief for 18 years. He ran in the March 2020 election to succeed

Lee Brand Lee R. Brand (born April 5, 1949) is an American politician and businessman who is the 25th mayor of Fresno, California. He took office as the successor for Ashley Swearengin on January 3, 2017. Upon inauguration, Brand became the oldest to assu ...

as mayor. He received a majority of the vote, bypassing the need for a runoff election.https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article241106011.html Dyer is the second former Fresno police chief to run for mayor and be elected after Mayor Truman G. Hart. Dyer and his wife, Diane, have two children.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dyer, Jerry 1959 births 21st-century American politicians American municipal police chiefs California Republicans Living people Mayors of Fresno, California California State University, Fresno alumni California State Polytechnic University, Pomona alumni People from Fowler, California