Thank you, chief Nevarez. You did a good job for Delano
Had it not been for his uncle Ray, Delano police chief Robert “Roberto” Nevarez might never have become a cop some 35 years ago. The then college-age student wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life and toyed with the idea of accounting, but soon realized working all day in an office wasn’t for him.
Then he played baseball in college and was pretty good at it, with the Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds expressing an interest and inviting him to their respective try-out camps.
But his grades started slipping and he had to let baseball go. Step in uncle Ray, who was a community activist in San Jose and introduced young Robert to a veteran police officer, Capt. Hernandez with San Jose Police Department. Something about the captain struck Roberto.
“I saw somebody that looked like my relatives, he looked like me and he had an accent,” said Nevarez. “And I thought, ‘You know what? I can be that! I can be like that guy.!’”
Nevarez’s grades went from being on academic probation to graduating as an Honor Roll student from Modesto Junior College. Then he completed Fresno State with a 3.2 GPA majoring in criminology. Born in San Jose and raised in Modesto, Nevarez was hired as a patrol officer with Fresno Police Department while still in college. He was hired as Delano police chief in 2018, having reached the rank of deputy chief in Fresno.
Nevarez turned out to be a good fit for Delano, the second largest city in Kern County. Being bilingual proved to be a major plus in a city that is predominantly Hispanic.
“When I walked down Main Street and talked with the older men in cowboy hats, I felt I was talking to family members,” said Nevarez, whose first language was Spanish and who was initially placed in a classroom for students learning English. He applied a valuable lesson to police work he learned long ago not from any criminology course, but from his father, Prudencio Carrera Nevarez, who came to this country from Durango, Mexic,o as an undocumented immigrant and later became a legal resident.
“For me, the most important thing is ‘tenemos que ser de confianza,’ we have to be trustworthy. If the community doesn’t trust the police, the police can’t do anything,” said the chief. Key to gaining that trust, especially in places like Delano, is to let the community know that the cops are not in bed with immigration agents.
“You have to constantly keep repeating that message to the community,” said the 56-year-old police chief. “We don’t care about immigration status.” Amen to that.
I found Nevarez to be extremely approachable and accessible, not just with the news media, but with just about anyone from his bosses at the city to most importantly, the people of Delano. During his tenure, he shook things up a little bit at the police department, tightening efficiency and thoroughness of investigations. He also fired three department employees including two patrol officers. Keeping someone on board who doesn’t respect the badge is asking for trouble, he reasons. And while Delano has seen a drop in crime overall in the last three years, that’s not to say this community is without its share of problems.
The toughest case for Nevarez, one that weighs on his mind, is the absolute senseless killing of two girls, Elyana Sadiee Dorig, 12, and Makeliah Rayann Osorno, 11, both of Delano. Both were shot by a gunman who walked up to an outdoor party at a home and began shooting at random. The case remains unsolved.
So to solve this and other cases, DPD began a “cold case” video on its Facebook page. It’s not exactly “Forensic Files” but it’s a neatly produced segment that focuses on cold cases, with the hope that someone will remember something and come forward with information. Check it out. Also on its Facebook page, the department caught some ugly mean-spirited comments for having the gall to post a picture of a Delano Police badge outlined in rainbow colors, which symbolize gay pride. The post was approved by Nevarez.
“I love all my brothers and sisters,” the chief wrote in a text message.
Delano Mayor Bryan Osorio acknowledges he started out with opposing views with Nevarez, especially when the chief recommended the City Council buy automated license plate readers, which are cameras that scan license plates of passing vehicles. That information is run against lists of vehicles of interest and added to a database where it can remain for years. Osorio and others raised concerns the information could fall into outside hands, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Nevarez listened and backed off his recommendation. Osorio was impressed, he said. “Ultimately, he’s been very responsive to the community,” said the mayor.
So after 35 years in law enforcement, the college kid who couldn’t decide what he wanted to do is retiring from police work. His last day as Delano police chief is July 9.
“I leave this place knowing it’s a better place than when I found it,” said Nevarez, who is quick to credit the men and women of DPD. “Let me be clear, it’s because of the officers that we have earned the community’s trust. Tenemos confianza!”