Bakersfield Death Causing Problems for Police

Wednesday, a Bakersfield resident, David Sal Silva was allegedly beat to death by Kern County law enforcement officers; and now, witnesses who recorded the incident are being harassed and mistreated by the same law enforcement.

Early Wednesday morning, the 33-year-old father of four small children was beaten by local deputies and California Highway Patrol officers, and then died at Kern Medical Center. The law enforcement was called to the scene after reports were made about a possibly-intoxicated man outside of the medical center.

Witnesses state and video surveillance shows a man repeatedly being beaten with a stick by officers while more continue to arrive at the scene. His pleas for them to stop were heard, but they continued to ignore him. In total, seven sheriff’s deputies, two CHP officers and a police dog were at the site where Silva was killed.

Witnesses explain how Silva was having trouble breathing and how they could hear him choking on his own blood.

Sulina Quair called 9-1-1 and is part of the group of witnesses that has video footage of the attack. She was leaving the hospital with her mother and sister after visiting a relative in the hospital and they came upon the scene. She explained to the dispatcher what she saw and that she has it all recorded. Sulina’s sister, Melissa Quair and her boyfriend were present for the assault. The women’s mother, Maria Melendez and Melissa’s boyfriend documented the abuse on each of their phones.

After the call, Melissa’s apartment was forcibly entered by the police demanding the phones. Melendez and the boyfriend were both present at Melissa’s home and the three of them were detained for hours until they each gave up the phones.

One major issue with this latest attack is that the police entered and ordered that the phones be handed over without any search warrants. They were not welcomed into Melissa’s residence and did not leave when she asked them to, which are legal requirements that they must follow. Unless there is reason to believe that evidence would be tampered with or immediate and serious danger will occur, law enforcement cannot enter a home or stay there without permission if it does not possess a search warrant.

Not only is the Kern County Police Department receiving negative attention for the alleged unnecessary abuse to Silva that eventually killed him, but it is also now enduring grievance for the treatment of the witnesses. Based on what’s happened thus far, it appears that the police is trying to get rid of the evidence that the women obtained and denying them their First Amendment rights. The witnesses expressed desire to share the videos with news stations to spread the story and the horrors that they saw.

The group’s attorney has explained that there was no substantiation of the claims that they were going to destroy evidence, as the police stated when questioned why it detained them. If anything, the attorney claims, they were working to preserve the evidence that would greatly benefit Silva and his family. Because of this, it certainly seems like the police is attempting to cover up what really happened.

Between the wrongful death case and the denial of witness rights, the police department in Bakersfield will continue experiencing trouble.