In an Instagram post on Tuesday, the Bakersfield Police Department (BPD) released a statement confirming that officers were called to the scene of the incident and intervened between the two groups. The department stated that the case was being investigated further, including how the officers responded on the scene.
“We understand these are tense times with a lot of passion from a lot of diverse groups. Officers have had to keep the peace on several occasions over the past few weeks. We continue to ask that all members of the public behave civilly and express themselves peacefully,” the statement read.
According to local news station KGET, the police said no physical fight was witnessed by the officers and no one on the scene was in need or requested emergency medical aid.
The police department announced that the two sides left the area after police managed to separate them, however, they added that criminal offenses may have taken place before officers arrived, but didn’t say by which group. Additionally, BPD said it has identified most of the people involved and will proceed with the rest of the pending investigation.
“The investigation will include reviewing the totality of unedited video evidence, including social media, business surveillance and body cameras,” a police official told KGET.
With the stress of election week, BPD said it understands "the public’s frustration" and will commit to "providing fair and impartial service to our community.”
Once the investigation has concluded, Bakersfield police said they will send its findings to the Kern County District Attorney’s Office for review, KGET reports.
