© 2024 KVPR | Valley Public Radio - White Ash Broadcasting, Inc. :: 89.3 Fresno / 89.1 Bakersfield
89.3 Fresno | 89.1 Bakersfield
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
76 new monthly members to go to reach our March goal! Start a new monthly gift today, or increase your existing monthly donation to help us reach the goal.

Kern DA: Serna Shooting Was Justified

Kern County District Attorney Lisa Green has determined that Bakersfield Police officer Reagan Selman acted reasonably when he shot and killed 73 year-old Francisco Serna in December 2016. Serna was unarmed, and suffering from dementia. Police later discovered the item he was holding in his pocket was a crucifix.

 

Officers had been called to the home on Silver Birch Avenue after Serna approached and questioned the passenger in a nearby car. The witness told dispatchers that the Serna had pulled out a gun during the confrontation. When police responded they discovered Serna outside and confronted him near a SUV. Officers ordered Serna to stop and show his hands but he refused.

 

Green says officer Selman acted in self-defense when he fired seven shots at Serna, because he had a reasonable fear for his life, and Serna failed to comply with the officer’s orders.

 

The Serna case gained national media attention, as one of several high-profile officer involved shootings by the department. Shortly after the shooting the California Department of Justice announced it was opening a civil rights investigation into both the Bakersfield Police Department and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office over their practices and the use of force.