Advisory board votes to recommend decertification of Fresno officer who admitted placing false 911 calls
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Summary
The advisory board voted to recommend decertification of Officer Kamowan Kevin Tockem after POST presented evidence that he placed three anonymous calls fabricating a violent disturbance to prompt police response; the motion passed by roll call.
The Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board voted Wednesday to recommend decertification for a Fresno Police Department officer after POST presented findings it said met the 'clear and convincing' standard.
Bureau Chief Robert Tripp presented the division’s review of case POST‑2316280, saying that Officer Kamowan Kevin Tockem placed three anonymous calls to the Fresno communications center on Aug. 10–11, 2023 reporting ongoing violent disturbances and that responding officers found no disturbance at the address cited. Tripp said the dispatcher logs show a priority 0 (life‑threatening) call the first night and elevated priority the next night; responding officers canvassed the building, found no disturbance and later reported their concern that the respondent may have placed the calls. According to POST, the respondent later admitted in both the department’s internal affairs interview and in a POST interview that he had fabricated the calls to prompt attention from a former partner.
POST framed the conduct as dishonesty and acts that violate the law, citing California Penal Code provisions and commission regulations that govern false emergency reports and officer conduct. Tripp noted that when officers were dispatched, victims and neighbors were woken and canvas checks were conducted, and that fabricating an emergency diverted resources and exposed officers to needless risk.
Board action: After presentation and no public comment, a motion to decertify was made and seconded. The clerk conducted a roll call: Clavo (aye), Crawford (aye), Dudley (aye), Johnson (aye), Lara (aye) and Pena (no). The motion passed, and the board will forward its recommendation to the commission for further proceedings.
What happens next: The commission may approve a full evidentiary hearing before an administrative law judge. The initial advisory vote is not a final decertification; it is a recommendation that the matter proceed to the next stage of administrative review.