- Video shows video Donte Heath recorded during a traffic stop
- Donte Heath claims an officer with the Bakersfield Police Department broke his arm after he was stopped on December 31st for not wearing his seat belt.
Bakersfield man, Donte Heath, says the Bakersfield Police Department pulled him over for a traffic stop at a Red Roof Inn in downtown Bakersfield.
He says he caught what happened after on camera.
Donte Heath says he was leaving the Red Roof Inn after spending the night with some longtime friends.
He didn’t have his seat belt on when he left.
“A car that stopped from what I knew. It was just a car that stopped, and he flashed his light on me,so I said 'oh that’s a cop.' Let me put my seat belt on,” Heath said.
During the traffic stop, Heath says the officer asked him for his license and to get out of the car.
He says he refused.
“I know that’s the law when they feel unsafe, but I did nothing to make you feel unsafe,” Heath said.
The video shows the officers asking multiple times for Heath to step out of his car to which he asks for a supervisor.
BPD’s assistant chief of police Brent Stratton said the department is investigating the basis of the traffic stop as Heath and the officers dispute whether the seat belt violation occurred on private or public property, adding the different interpretations of the law may have escalated the incident.
“We don’t believe that engaging at the scene of the window of a traffic stop is the best place to litigate or work through these issues,” Stratton said.
He adds the law allows officers to remove people from their vehicles if necessary due to the dangers and unpredictability in traffic stops.
“We expect our officers to deescalate situations when feasible," Stratton explained. "It’s also important to remember deescalation requires two parties to do that.”
In the video, the officer told Heath if he didn't get out he would break the window.
Heath still stays in his car, and the officer broke Heath’s window with a personal device then arresting him for obstruction of justice.
“When I got out of the car, I can tell you honestly," Heath recalled. "I closed my eyes because I was slammed with force to the ground.”
Heath’s phone falls at the end of the video, recording only the audio of Heath calling for help.
Heath’s wife, Faith Heath, watched the live video later that morning feeling fear for her husband until he finally called her and assured her he was okay.
“When someone has a perception of you, it doesn’t matter," she said. "No matter what he said. No matter how much he cried out for help."
Heath was released from prison with a broken arm and the family held a press conference with their lawyer, announcing their lawsuit against BPD.
“At what point does my safety or does his safety or does anyone else’s safety supersede the safety or the alleged unsafety of someone who is there to protect me,” Faith said.
Assistant Chief Stratton says they do not expect any charges from the District Attorney’s office for misconduct at this time.
“Something has to change because I have sons,” Heath said.
This investigation is still ongoing.
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