‘Killing County’ documentary should ignite push for reform
Years ago, there was a joke going around Kern County and Bakersfield. “Arrive on vacation and leave on probation.” It was a wink and a nod to Kern’s tough-on-crime reputation. Back then, people were downright fond of having aggressive police to keep Kern safe. Minority communities — people who received most of the tough treatment — were not so fond.
Looking back, Kern really wasn’t all that safe then. The rough-and-tumble southern San Joaquin Valley was notorious for its violent crimes. The joke began to wear thin as lawsuits and taxpayer payouts to aggrieved families started adding up.
The proliferation of cellphones, which placed a camera in just about everyone’s pocket, contributed to a growing sense that something just wasn’t right. No longer did the public have to rely on only officer-written incident reports for the “truth.” They could see it for themselves.
“Killing County,” a Hulu and ABC News Studios documentary, began streaming on Feb. 3. Now the world is seeing Kern’s version of tough-on-crime through the deaths of five men.
Local law enforcement officials dispute some of the details in the threepart documentary. The featured cases are just a few of the many local controversial officer-involved deaths.
Details can be debated. But there is no denying that Jorge Ramirez Jr., David Silva, James De La Rosa, Jason Alderman and Francisco Serna are dead.
Ramirez, a police informant, was shot by Bakersfield police during a chaotic takedown of a fugitive he was helping arrest. Silva was unarmed and sleeping on a corner near Kern Medical when he was beaten by sheriff’s deputies, bitten by their dog and hogtied. De La Rosa was unarmed when he was fatally shot by police. An officer jokingly tickled the man’s corpse at the morgue. Alderman was shot by police as he fled a burglary. He carried a tire iron he used to break through a glass door. Officers said it looked like a gun.
Serna was a 73-year-old man who was fatally shot by police in his own driveway. Unarmed, Serna only clutched a plastic crucifix in his hand.
Serna’s death caused such outrage that Kamala Harris, then California’s attorney general, launched a four-year investigation that resulted in both the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and Bakersfield Police Department signing a “settlement agreement” requiring reforms.
State investigators concluded that both departments were violating people’s constitutional rights through illegal “use of force,” stops, searches and seizures. The departments did not admit blame. However, they agreed to being monitored by the AG’s third party, and to change policing methods.
Monitors reported last month that in the first year of the agreement, the BPD had not reformed practices, nor had it formed a required citizens’ advisory committee. Members of the committee were announced only a few weeks ago.
Claiming the “Killing County” documentary misrepresented case facts, BPD officials promised to post clarifying information on a department “transparency portal” it would soon launch.
Strangely, the BPD already has a “transparency portal,” at https://www. bakersfieldcity.us/1011/Transparency. It contains boilerplate policy statements and policing trend graphs. The portal is not being updated and it lacks information the public can use to follow specific cases.
Reforming Kern’s law enforcement procedures must move more quickly.
Leadership: A department’s “culture” is shaped at the top. For decades, BPD leadership has been inbred. The city’s charter demanded that only BPD staff could apply to be chief. That will change. In November, city voters passed a ballot measure opening selection to outside candidates.
Real transparency: The existing BPD “transparency portal” should be expanded to enable residents to monitor the behavior of officers and policing reform efforts.
State review: In 2020, a law was passed requiring the California AG to review police shootings of unarmed people. An investigative report by CalMatters, a nonprofit news outlet, found the AG is doing a lousy job of implementing this law. Not all cases referred to the AG were being investigated. Referrals were not logged, or tracked. Reasons were not given as to why some cases were ignored. The AG blamed lack of staff and funding for the lax oversight. Legislators plan to introduce another bill to mandate better oversight.
If California is serious about improving law enforcement in the state, including in Kern, local officials and state politicians must stop blathering nonsense and take real action.