BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Bakersfield Police Chief Greg Terry discussed the latest monitor report findings and rising DUI concerns during his monthly visit to address community safety issues.
The independent monitor report, released Monday, shows alignment with the department's internal investigations, according to Terry. The police department released its own internal report on the same data earlier this summer, which is available on the department's website.
"There's very often a lot of alignment between what we find and what the monitor finds," Terry said.
The monitor report identified 18 officers with multiple complaints, representing 9% of the workforce but accounting for 26% of all complaints. Terry said, while he hasn't reviewed all the findings, that this pattern isn't surprising and often relates to the nature of certain units' work.
"Historically, when you look, there are at times clusters of officers in the course of a year, and when you start diving into that data, you will see that sometimes that is associated with the nature of their work or the unit that they're in," Terry said.
The report showed increases in complaints related to dishonesty, use of force, and criminal conduct. Terry attributed some increases to more specific tracking methods rather than lumping complaints into broad categories.
Regarding dishonesty complaints, Terry explained these range from alleged errors in reports to accusations of officers intentionally falsifying information.
"It's a range of all of those things from errors to the allegation that an officer falsified a report, intentionally wrote things, or categorized an offense, or wrote a statement that was absolutely false," Terry said.
The report also revealed disparities in complaint patterns, with Black residents filing a third of all complaints despite making up a smaller portion of the population, while Hispanic residents, who comprise the majority, filed fewer complaints.
"Any indication of a potential disparity is obviously very concerning. We want to make sure that we're delivering the appropriate professional service to all of our community," Terry said.
Rising DUI Concerns
Terry highlighted alarming increases in DUI arrests, with nearly 700 arrests so far this year compared to 625 for all of last year. Most concerning, DUI-related fatalities have risen from 8 last year to 12 currently.
"The majority of our DUI arrests start with a collision," Terry said.
Terry emphasized that impairment begins immediately when consuming alcohol, regardless of legal limits.
"It's really about impairment, and impairment starts when you start drinking alcohol. Do not try to manage this number. If you've been drinking, you are impaired," Terry said.
The chief supports increased punishment for DUI offenses, calling drunk driving "a serious violent offense."
"You will very likely get into a collision. It's not an accident. You're going to get into a collision and very likely injure or kill someone simply because you made the choice to consume alcohol and get behind the wheel," Terry said.
Enhanced Parade Security
Looking ahead to the Bakersfield Christmas parade, Terry discussed enhanced security measures implemented following a DUI incident from previous years. The department has studied security protocols from larger cities and increased protective barriers.
"Our teams do an incredible job now of really assessing the parade route and all the vulnerabilities. We've gone all over the country looking at ways that bigger cities are doing these large events," Terry said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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