The death of Francisco Serna at the hands of Bakersfield Police is making national headlines.
The 73-year-old grandfather, suffering from dementia, was shot and killed by a bpd officer just before 1 a.m. Monday.
By that afternoon national reporters invaded the neighborhood where Serna lived and died.
But this isn’t the first time that BPD officer-involved shootings have made headlines.
Last year UK publication, The Guardian, put a spotlight on the Bakersfield Police Department.
The headline read “The Story of America’s Deadliest Police”.
A 2015 review by the guardian identified 54 fatal shootings over the past decade by Bakersfield Police and Kern County Sheriff’s deputies.
The shooting of Francisco Serna has brought the guardian back to kern county - same county the guardian says has the highest per capita rate of killings by police.
In October HBO talk show host, John Oliver featured former bpd chief Greg Williamson on his show Last Week Tonight.
Oliver aired a statement made by Williamson’s regarding police accountability.
When asked if the structures of officer-involved shooting reviews are impartial, Williamson replied, “I am. These guys are experts in the field. They have hundreds of years experience combined.”
It’s unclear how media across the world will continue to react to the latest shooting, but with a new police chief at the helm – all eyes are on the department on how police and the community will move forward.
