BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — A report by the Bakersfield Monitoring Team, established after a state Department of Justice investigation into the Bakersfield Police Department (BPD), reveals significant findings regarding officer complaints.
Bakersfield Police KBAK/KBFX
The report indicates that while the number of complaints remained steady from 2023 to 2024, the nature of these complaints shifted, with more serious allegations such as dishonesty, criminal conduct, and use of force increasing.
Former Arvin Police Chief Tommy Tunson commented, “There’s two views to that. One view is those officers are out there working, and the more you work, the harder you work, the more complaints you’re going to get.” He added, “And then there’s those that seem to attract to certain issues and concerns and conflicts in, um, the in the community.”
The report highlights that 18 officers were linked to over 26% of all complaints last year, often involved together in various incidents.
KBAK/KBFX file photo of the Bakersfield Police Department.
It also points out issues related to officer performance, discrimination, and use-of-force concerns, mirroring BPD’s own report from July.
Notably, the report underscores racial disparities in complaint filings, with one-third of complaints coming from African American residents, while Hispanics, who constitute over half of Bakersfield’s population, filed fewer complaints than expected.
Tunson noted, “When you have a large agency, you’re going to have issues, you’re going to have conflicts, and you go in and have challenges.”
The report concludes that BPD’s system for handling complaints is becoming more organized, with improvements in processing times and evidence sufficiency.
BPD responded to the report, stating, “We have not yet fully reviewed the monitor’s report, so cannot speak to its findings at this time. BPD did release our report on the same data months ago”
The department is set to update the Chief’s Advisory Panel on Dec. 9.