There is some public video of the deputies’ encounter with Silva.
A mother of four, whose backyard security camera is trained on the east Bakersfield corner where witnesses say the beating took place, gave a tape to Silva’s family. Local station KERO-TV aired a snippet of grainy footage copied from a cellphone. The Times later viewed the entire original recording and posted a segment online. It shows a group of officers clearly swinging batons at a man on the ground. It’s not clear how many blows connected or what Silva was doing when the beating began.
Still, the images have been enough to cause some uncommon criticism of local law enforcement. Steve E. Swenson, a retired reporter who covered crime and courts at the Bakersfield Californian for 33 years, said a few of his friends at the Episcopal church and his daily golf game are calling the beating brutal and the phone seizures an attempt at a coverup.
Criticism of deputies “doesn’t happen around here. The investigation isn’t even complete,” Swenson said. “We like and support law enforcement and usually give them the benefit of the doubt.”