NewsLocal News

Actions

Bakersfield man and ACLU file discrimination lawsuit against city, two officers and a sergeant

Bakersfield man and ACLU file discrimination lawsuit
Posted

A Bakersfield man and the ACLU have filed a discrimination lawsuit against the city, two Bakersfield Police officers and a sergeant.

Robert Mitchell claimed last year his civil rights were violated when he was arrested without a cause.

Mitchell filed the lawsuit on Friday, naming officer Ronnie Jeffries and John Bishop along with a department sergeant. He said that in March 2017 he was a passenger in a car that was stopped because he and his fellow passengers were all black.

Mitchell said he was arrested after refusing to provide his name to officers and exercising his rights under the first and fourth amendments.

The lawsuit says Mitchell was jailed for 12 hours and no charges were filed.

City officials said they have not been served yet and couldn't comment on the matter.

BPD did not respond for comment.

Sign up for our Morning E-mail Newsletter to receive the latest headlines in your inbox.

,

Weather

Daily Forecast

View Hourly Forecast

Day

Conditions

HI / LO

Precip

Tuesday

10/28/2025

Partly Cloudy

76° / 52°

3%

Wednesday

10/29/2025

Sunny

80° / 55°

4%

Thursday

10/30/2025

Sunny

82° / 55°

2%

Friday

10/31/2025

Partly Cloudy

78° / 54°

3%

Saturday

11/01/2025

Sunny

79° / 55°

3%

Sunday

11/02/2025

Partly Cloudy

77° / 55°

2%

Monday

11/03/2025

Mostly Sunny

80° / 56°

0%

Tuesday

11/04/2025

Mostly Sunny

78° / 56°

0%