Transparency and Accountability Comes to Bakersfield Police Department
How the attorney general sees the need and demands change to a troubled police department
Around the country, several attorney generals are stepping up to the plate demanding much needed change to their police system that is wreaked with lots of injustices, racism, and excessive use of force.
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta, (above photo), has made it his charge in demanding police reform in the Bakersfield police department after citing civil rights violations that required comprehensive reforms by the city and its police force.
This is the result of a five-year, (2016), investigation regarding accusations of excessive force, stops of minorities, and practices involving the use of police canines. The irony here, the police ill-practices were orchestrated against people of color, in general.
Sadly but a reality, for centuries and mostly without justification other than skin color, Black and white men are treated differently during arrest or during any type of interactions starting from their tone, degrading demeanor and total void of respect is inevitable herald toward Black men, unlike white men. Often their tone bespeaks of their disdain for Black men versus white men.
Along with the attorney general, the city leaders have joined forces for the reformation of the police department after findings conveyed that Bakersfield police officers failed to uniformly and adequately enforce the law that gave rise to pattern or practice of systemic racism deprived residents of their constitutional protections where unreasonable force, unwarranted stops, searches, arrests, and seizures occurred.
Overall, the police department inadequately enforced the law. Bakersfield’s police department ranked for police killings, the ninth in the country and California’s second-highest city.
During unwarranted traffic stops by the Bakersfield police, there was found to be the use of deadly force against those with mental health issues. Where is humanity here or honoring the badge to protect and serve? Their actions violated state and/or federal laws in the use of excessive force.
Another area where the Bakersfield Police department was lacking, they allowed the police department to take advantage of the disadvantage, failed to provide adequate access to police services for people who had limited usage of English, and failed to maintain program needed to address civilian complaints, and lacked a comprehensive community policing program.
Clearly, this is indicative of a police department that needs a much-needed revamping and/or restructuring where accountability and transparency will prevail. Thanks to the attorney general of Bakersfield, these ill practices by these out-of-control Bakersfield’s police officers may not stop completely but will be viewed under a microscope moving forward, demanding accountability and transparency.
Unless revamping is demanded outside of the Bakersfield police department, much could continue to fall in the cracks at the demise of people of color. Prior to the attorney general mandate, Bakersfield’s police department had previously instituted three reforms, outfitting officers with body-cameras, volunteered to collect data early under the state’s Racial and Identity Profiling Act, and implemented a community collaboration initiative.
In order for any new practices and policies to be adequately enforced, an outside investigation entity, community policing committee, is required to ensure compliance along with court-enforced compliance.
Other modifications of Bakersfield’s police department would include overseeing the de-escalation process, stun guns misusage, handcuffing children, using police canines during an arrest, and traffic stop procedures.
Having all these practices and changes is great along with being monitored by an outside agency, but the training of the police officer is needed after many of them have been privy to run amuck in the police department.
According to this reform, training will include police stops, analysis of race-stop data, and new crisis-intervention training for dispatchers along with a revised complaint procedure.
As mentioned earlier, other police departments are also under investigation, Los Angeles County‘s Department and the San Franciso Police Department, and a few others outside of California.
In conclusion, this problem of systemic racism and power abuse is not solely in California but across the country as some other attorney general has chosen to mandate new policies and practices while far too many others are sitting on the wayside doing nothing about systemic racism within their department. Changes breed change, and no change means being an accomplice and a perpetrator of misconduct by police officers.
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