FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Review of an officer-involved shooting in Kern County is released on Friday, finding that Bakersfield Police officers acted accordingly in the situation.
The suspect, himself, even saying later that “the officers were just doing their job.”
The Kern County DA’s Office says back in December of 2016, Bakersfield Police officers made a traffic stop in the 1300 block of Oswell.
Gang member Jose Cortez-Vaca got out of a car with tinted windows carrying a rifle, aiming at officers.
Police fired nine shots, injuring the 30 year-old.
The Kern County District Attorney’s Office found they were justified.
Cortez-Vaca gave an interview to the media from jail on December 27, 2016. During the interview he acknowledged getting out of the vehicle with the loaded rifle and that it was a bad idea to do so. Cortez-Vaca also stated that “the officers were just doing their job.” When he was asked if they were good cops, he replied, “Yeah cuz they didn’t know what to expect.”
Cortez Vaca was charged with multiple felonies, and on September 26, 2017, he pled guilty to Assault on a Peace Officer with a Semi-Automatic Firearm and a gun-use enhancement.
He’s now spending 10 years in state prison.
Click below to listen to the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern.
