BAKERSFIELD, CA -- District Attorney Lisa Green held a news conference Friday announcing she will not file charges in the David Sal Silva case.
Green announced she would conduct an independent investigation after Silva died in a violent struggle with deputies on a street corner across from Kern Medical Center in May 2013.
Deputies said Silva did not follow their orders and fought with them. Family members said Silva went to Kern Medical Center to seek help for mental illness.
Within minutes of the announcement that no charges will be filed, the attorney representing the Silva family, David Cohn, With Chain, Cohn, Stiles, issued this statement. It reads in part, "this is the reason we need an independent advisory panel evaluating these types of cases. Kern County District Attorney's office personnel work with these agencies every day, and they're the ones in charge of prosecuting cases for them. Apparently, the way it works in Kern County is that unless they catch the officers red-handed, nothing will happen. It appears that they look for ways not to prosecute."
Green announced she would conduct an independent investigation after Silva died in a violent struggle with deputies on a street corner across from Kern Medical Center in May 2013.
Deputies said Silva did not follow their orders and fought with them. Family members said Silva went to Kern Medical Center to seek help for mental illness.
Within minutes of the announcement that no charges will be filed, the attorney representing the Silva family, David Cohn, With Chain, Cohn, Stiles, issued this statement. It reads in part, "this is the reason we need an independent advisory panel evaluating these types of cases. Kern County District Attorney's office personnel work with these agencies every day, and they're the ones in charge of prosecuting cases for them. Apparently, the way it works in Kern County is that unless they catch the officers red-handed, nothing will happen. It appears that they look for ways not to prosecute."