“This is a tragic incident for their family, community as a whole, and for the police department”, said Lyle Martin.
The police officer who shot and killed Mr. Francisco Serna on Monday night, December 12th, is currently on administrative leave. The victim’s family claims the old man displayed early signs of dementia and was unarmed at the time the shooting occurred.
According to the initial reports, the law enforcement officers responded to a call stating that a man was waving a gun in the air, precisely a revolver, as described by the witness, and acting strangely. After arriving on the scene, the police officers discovered Mr. Serna, a 73-year-old grandfather, standing in the middle of the driveway, unresponsive. However, after a while, the man started to move in the officers’ direction with his hands in the pockets. After failing to respond to the law enforcement officers’ orders to stop moving, Regan Selman, one of the responding agents, opened fire, shooting Mr. Serna seven times. When paramedics arrived, they declared Francisco Serna dead on the scene.
After searching for a gun, well into Monday afternoon, however, the police officers were unable to find a gun. As it turned out, the old man was, in fact, holding a crucifix in his pockets.
According to Rogelio Serna, the victim’s son, his father did not own a gun. Moreover, he said that Francisco Serna voted for a law that was meant to keep guns off the streets, in the past. Laura Serna, Rogelio’s sister, and the victim’s daughter told the press that the police killed her father for no reason.
The witness who claims to have seen Mr. Serna flinging a weapon lived across the street. In her initial report, she described Francisco Serna holding a black or dark brown handle of a gun. The woman then urged her husband to call 9-1-1. When police arrived, Mr. Serna’s neighbors pointed the officers in his direction.
Regan Selman has been with the Bakersfield police since July 2015. Officer Selman shot Francisco Serna seven times from a distance of approximately 15 feet. Lyle Martin, the Bakersfield Assistant Police Chief says that no other levels of force were attempted by any of the officers on the scene.
“This is a tragic incident for their family, community as a whole, and for the police department”, said Lyle Martin.
Roger Selman’s wife could not be reached for comment.
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