Bakersfield police face new rules after federal investigation

A year after a U.S. Justice Department investigation into alleged racial profiling and excessive force, the Bakersfield Police Department is instituting sweeping policy changes that limit, among other things, the circumstances in which an officer can shoot at a moving vehicle. Though the investigation found no proof of the allegations, the report has spurred a move in the police department to better train its officers, said Bakersfield Police Chief Bill Rector. Written guidelines on policies including shooting at vehicles, deploying dogs and using pepper spray have recently been given to all officers, according to a list of changes recently released by the department. Supervisors are now required to report all uses of force on separate forms, as well on standard police reports, Rector said. The information is put into a database that allows police to track patterns. The department would eventually like to make portions of the information available to the public. The policy changes also strengthen the guidelines regarding when officers can fire their guns at moving vehicles. Such shootings can cause bullet ricochets that can injure officers or bystanders, according to the Justice Department report. Rector said officers must now be in an immediate threat situation to fire at a moving vehicle. Officers also must not place themselves in the path of a moving vehicle. [more]