California DOJ and Bakersfield PD agree to policing reforms following investigation

On August 23, 2021, the California Department of Justice announced a stipulated judgment with the City of Bakersfield and the Bakersfield Police Department. A DOJ investigation found a pattern of unreasonable force, stops, searches, and arrests, among other violations. The five-year agreement requires BPD to revise use-of-force policies, prohibit electronic control weapons on handcuffed individuals, improve data collection, and be overseen by an independent monitor. BPD had already outfitted officers with body-worn cameras and volunteered to collect data under the Racial and Identity Profiling Act.