A group of residents in Kern County is calling for an external investigation of the most recent deadly police-involved shooting in Bakersfield.
Just before 1 am Monday, Bakersfield police responded to reports of a man with a gun hassling people.
They found 73-year old Francisco Serna walking near his home. According to police, an officer shot Serna because he was approaching them with his hands in his pockets and did not follow commands.
Serna’s family says it was not uncommon for the man to take night time walks. They also claim he had early onset dementia, which the dispatcher told officers according to recordings released today.
No gun was found.
Today, advocates for families of people shot by police are holding a rally to call for an outside investigation into the shooting.
Josth Stenner with Faith in the Valley says he no longer trusts the department to do internal investigations.
“The problem with that is that they never find any wrongdoing. Everything is always justified. So you have cops investigating other cops. Friends of cops investigating other cops. And so that is the problem,” Stenner says.
Stenner says it is time for the new Attorney General Xavier Becerra to step in and investigate not only this shooting but all claims of misconduct in Kern County.
