Letters: Beating in Bakersfield

Re “City is largely silent on beating,” May 20

While I find the beating death of Bakersfield resident David Sal Silva by police and the subsequent seizure of potential witnesses’ cellphones deeply disturbing and feel that a vigorous FBI investigation is warranted, I must protest the thrust and tone of this article.

The Times cites several other controversial killings by Kern County sheriff’s deputies, including the fatal shooting of former NFL player David Turner. The article states that he was shot because “Turner had raised a bag of beers and was about to swing them at an officer,” and that the deputies were found to have acted within department policy because “the beers were deemed a lethal weapon.”

What The Times leaves out is that according to authorities, Turner was raising his bag to hit a deputy over the head a second time. Turner had already struck the deputy over the head before being shot by the officer’s partner.

I urge The Times to be more careful and not to further inflame such a volatile situation.

James Clark

Tehachapi, Calif.

The article on the muted reaction in Bakersfield to a man’s beating death there gives the impression that the city is full of cliches: “Well, that’s how we do it in Kern County”; “we’ve gotten used to a lot here”; “we’re a cowboy town”; and “never miss a good chance to shut up.”

And I don’t doubt the Kern County sheriff knows this also.

Hey Bakersfield, here’s one more for you: “Never speak up when you see wrong.”

Charles P. Martin

Los Angeles

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