LOS ANGELES—An unarmed 73-year-old man refused to take his hand out of his pocket and stop walking toward officers who believed he had a gun when they fatally shot him, the incoming police chief of Bakersfield, California, said.
Two different people who encountered Francisco Serna in the hours leading up to the shooting had believed he had a gun, and police were answering a 911 call of a man with a revolver, incoming Chief Lyle Martin said at a news conference Tuesday.
Officer Reagan Selman, who had been on the force about 16 months, fired seven shots at Serna as he walked toward them in a neighbor’s driveway early Monday, said Martin.
Serna was declared dead at the scene, and no gun was found on him. Martin could not say how many of the seven shots had hit him. Martin says an object was recovered that may have been what the woman mistook for a gun, but he said it was difficult to describe and didn’t offer further details.
The shooting came about 20 to 30 seconds after a woman who had encountered Serna pointed him out to police as he walked out of his house across the street and walked toward them, Martin said. Serna refused to remove his hand from his jacket pocket and to stop walking toward the officers despite many commands, Martin said.
Serna’s family said he has dementia.
Earlier at about 4 p.m. on Sunday, another neighbor had encountered Serna, whose hand was in his jacket pocket as though he had a gun. Serna tried to force his way into the house of the neighbor, who called his behavior “bizarre.” Serna left and the neighbor, who had recognized him, did not immediately report the incident.
