In Bakersfield, a muted response to beating by deputies

When Silva sat up, a deputy hit him in the head, said Laura Vasquez, 26.

Witnesses said officers arrived and beat him with batons. Silva’s cries for help and the crack of the batons woke up many in the neighborhood.

A woman screamed, “Call the cops!” “They are the cops!” people shouted.

Authorities said six deputies, a sergeant, two California Highway Patrol officers and a police dog were at the scene.

A week later, on a gray, sweltering afternoon, a woman who lives across the street and her two middle-school-age sons brought a bouquet of fresh flowers from the supermarket to the corner.

“I was the one who brought the first flowers too,” she said. “I keep thinking of the moment when Mr. Silva stopped pleading and went limp. I felt chills.”

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