Promo video for Fresno with helicopters, guns and county supervisor stirs reactions
A “Mission Impossible”-inspired video promoting an annual event hosted by Fresno County officials and business leaders has gone viral for its unorthodox approach.
The video — which has been viewed around 30,000 times across social media pages for Fresno County Board Chair Garry Bredefeld, Fresno County and the Fresno Chamber of Commerce — is supposed to be creative and humorous, Bredefeld told The Fresno Bee on Friday. The video released Wednesday is a teaser for a longer version to be played Sept. 24 at the annual State of the County event.
This year’s event, called Building a Stronger, Safer Fresno County, is meant to honor law enforcement and promote public safety, he said. In the teaser, Bredefeld is featured in the one-minute, 20-second video traversing the lakes and mountains of Fresno County — using Fresno County Sheriff’s Office vehicles — as he journeys towards the Fresno Convention Center, the event’s location, in time to give his annual speech.
He rides in a helicopter at Millerton Lake and in a patrol boat at Shaver Lake. In another scene, he’s in a side-by-side ATV on a dirt road with Supervisor Nathan Magsig, whose district includes the foothill communities. In another, Bredefeld is in the turret of an armored vehicle aiming a SWAT-issued rifle at the camera. A following scene shows him firing the LWRC M6.
The video’s style is a departure from previous years that highlighted the employees, residents, businesses, agricultural, natural landscape and employees of Fresno County — though not the supervisors themselves. Bredefeld and county officials are defending its production and message.
“We wanted to make this exciting,” Bredefeld told The Bee. “We wanted it to be something that people were really interested in. So we wanted to highlight law enforcement and all the great things that they do.”
Several commenters on Bredefeld’s Facebook page celebrated the video: “This is great! A true leader. Looking forward to it,” one said.
Not everyone saw it that way. Dozens of commenters on Facebook and Instagram criticized Bredefeld, the County and the Chamber of Commerce over the video. Some questioned the use of taxpayer funds, others questioned the use of the Sheriff Office’s equipment to make a humorous video.
“When have you ever seen first responders pull up like this?” one Facebook user asked of the scene in which Bredefeld is aiming his rifle at the camera.
“This video may have had more impact if it showed Fresno County law enforcement doing their jobs instead of Garry Bredefeld’s cosplay,” another critic said.
Fresno County spokesperson Sonja Dosti said in a statement that the county does not pay for the State of the County video — the Chamber of Commerce does — and no staff overtime was used. Every year, each Chairman of the Board of Supervisors is the keynote speaker at the State of the County luncheon and some have used videos to represent their chosen theme of the event, while others did not, Dosti said.
Bredefeld’s office coordinated the staff availability to film the video, and a county communications staffer shot and provided additional B-roll that is used for the State of the County teaser, Dosti said. The footage will be used throughout the year for Annual Report photos and other county videos including board meeting recaps, education, outreach, and PSAs, she said.
Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Tony Botti said deputies involved were already performing regular duties or assigned to do training with the equipment involved. Those deputies, he added, were still available for service calls. No calls for those requirements came in during the video shoots, Botti said.
Like the county, the Sheriff’s Office could use the footage in other official media, he said, such as recruitment videos.
“It is important to note,” Botti said, “that this video was created with a county supervisor and the experiences allowed him to become better informed of how we do our jobs. The video ultimately highlights the type of work we do on a daily basis for our residents to see.”
Others criticized the Chamber of Commerce for “promoting” Bredefeld, though it is customary for the board chair to host the event. Bredefeld has made waves since he joined the Board of Supervisors in January 2025, in part for stamping personal ideology on policies and board decisions.
He called for the removal of diversity, equity and inclusion language from county job postings. The Board adopted new spending limits on public events last year after he expressed outrage that the county had spent about $6,000 for a June 2025 Pride Month parade and event, where Department of Health employees passed out condoms, lube and informational materials. Last month, Fresno County passed a resolution in favor of “Traditional Nuclear Family Month,” also promoted by Bredefeld, which appeared to be an observance to replace Pride Month and referred to indoctrination of children “to the LGBTQ lifestyle.”
Fresno Chamber of Commerce CEO Scott Miller said in a statement the video “does not represent any support or opposition to any elected official or position taken by the Board of Supervisor.”
The video — which ABC30 reported cost $7,000 to produce — is paid for through event sponsorship and chamber staff is not directly involved in its production or content, Miller said.
“The event is never intended to be political,” Miller said.
Critics need ‘sense of humor’
Bredefeld said he has received “tremendously positive” feedback since the video published Wednesday. He’s also read the comments on Facebook that are more critical of the video.
He attributed the criticism to people who don’t like guns, don’t support law enforcement or don’t like him.
“We certainly understood criticism would come,” Bredefeld said. “I just think people need to have a sense of humor about things.”
When asked what the video represents about Fresno County or himself, Bredefeld said the message is meant to honor law enforcement and the county’s work.
“That’s the whole purpose of a State of the County address. And so we wanted to highlight that, but we wanted to do it in a fun, creative, interesting way,” he said.
Magsig, who also appears briefly in the promotional teaser, didn’t think the video was political in nature: “Was there something I’m missing where there was maybe a partisan message that that went out? Because I’m not aware of that,” he said.
And the video achieved its goal, which was to get attention and generate awareness about the work of the county.
“Looking at it through that lens,” Magsig said, “he definitely has done that.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Promo video for Fresno with helicopters, guns and county supervisor stirs reactions."
