The senior with dementia which was shot and killed on Monday night was carrying a crucifix, Police Department said.
On Monday morning, a police officer responding to a 911 call in Bakersfield California, shot and killed a senior with dementia suspected of concealing a firearm in his jacket. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, but the investigators failed to discover a gun on the man.
New facts uncovered in the case of the unarmed 73-years old Hispanic citizen shot dead by a police officer in a house’s driveway on Monday night. According to a police spokesperson, the 911 call was initiated by the husband of a woman living in the same neighborhood as the victim.
As the woman was pulling the car into the driveway, she and her passenger, a close friend of the family, spotted the senior citizen heading towards the car.
When the woman exited the car, Francisco Serna, started questioning her about the neighborhood and about her living there. According to the woman and her friend, the man was insistent on looking inside the woman’s vehicle.
The woman’s friend, who’s also her neighbor, said that during the conversation, both of them noticed that Serna was holding something that resembles the black handle of a revolver inside the jacket. The neighbor opened the car’s door and allowed Serna to go inside.
Once the senior citizen entered the vehicle, the neighbor rushed to her friend’s house, and told the woman’s husband that a person brandishing a firearm demanded to enter his spouse’s car. The man immediately dialed 911 and reported the incident.
At around 12:35 am, approximately six police officers arrived at the scene. While they were questioning the two ‘victims’ involved in the incident, the six police officers, including Serna’s shooter identified as Officer Reagan Selman, saw the senior with dementia leaving his home and heading towards them.
According to their testimonies, while the senior citizen approached them, he kept his hands inside his pocket. The officers told the man to stop and to take his hands out of the pocket, but he did not comply. Officer Selman shot Francisco Serna seven times, who was declared dead on the scene.
Upon investigating the body of the deceased man, the police discovered a wooden crucifix inside his pockets. All the officers involved in the case, Selman included, were placed on administrative leave pending an official internal investigation.
Serna’s family has set up a candlelight vigil in the memory of the departed senior.
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