Faced with raucous opposition from members of the public who criticized a $13.4 million increase to the budget of the Bakersfield Police Department, the Bakersfield City Council on Wednesday cleared the meeting chamber and then permitted only one person at a time to address the council. An ACLU legal and advocacy assistant stated that it appeared the council front-loaded pro-law enforcement comments and disproportionately restricted the time allotted to members of the public who called for budget cuts.
Activists outside the Bakersfiled City Council. Photo by Sam Morgen, Bakersfield Californian.