An agreement has been reached after a more than four-year state investigation into complaints of excessive use of force by the Bakersfield Police Department.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday announced a stipulated judgement between the police department, the City of Bakersfield and the California Department of Justice that he said will prompt significant changes that can serve as a blueprint for other police departments.
Those could potentially include two departments here in the Bay Area, both of which are currently under state investigation.
The investigation into the Bakersfield Police Department found, among other things, the department engaged in unreasonable use of force, unreasonable deadly force and unreasonable stops and searches. Investigators found complaints of officers breaking bones while conducting arrests.
"(The investigation), in our estimation, revealed that the Bakersfield Police Department failed to uniformly and adequately enforce the law," Bonta, who formerly represented the East Bay in the California State Assembly, told reporters on Monday.
As part of the agreement with the state, the Bakersfield Police Department will review use-of-force policies, modify training and take steps to avoid restraining people facedown.
The department will be required to report any arrests “above a standard handcuffing,” according to the Attorney General.
"These are broad, significant, far-ranging, comprehensive changes," Bonta said.
The state Department of Justice is continuing investigations into other departments across the state, including San Francisco and Vallejo in the Bay Area.
Bonta called Monday's agreement "a good blueprint" for how other departments across the state can embrace change, but he wouldn't provide specifics about those particular cases.
The Bakersfield Police Department had already implemented some changes, including using body cameras. The department admitted no wrongdoing as part of the stipulated judgement, which Bakersfield Police Chief Greg Terry said was a better alternative than "a costly and divisive legal proceeding" with the state.
You can read a full copy of the stipulated judgement below.
Related
