Media Contact: Michelle.Sherwood@sen.ca.gov

Hurtado requests Special Law Enforcement Task Force from California Department of Justice to Provide Immediate Assistance to Address Violence in the Valley
 

BAKERSFIELD, CA – Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) today sent a letter to Attorney General Rob Bonta requesting that he direct the Department of Justice to create a special law enforcement task force to provide immediate assistance to Kern County to address rising violence and homicide rates.

“Today, I wrote to the California Attorney General asking that he create a special law enforcement task force providing immediate assistance to Kern County to address rising violence, including homicide rates,” said Senator Hurtado. “Yesterday morning, I learned that McFarland Unified School District, in my Senate District was canceling its remaining athletic events for the week, including a high school homecoming game. They are doing so over concerns of a rash of recent violence that has resulted in the shooting deaths of multiple individuals in the surrounding community. This situation is unacceptable to me and to our communities, which is why I am requesting additional state resources through the creation of a special law enforcement task force to address these issues. The people of the Valley deserve to feel safe, and the State of California has a duty to provide our communities with the resources at its disposal to bring these criminals to justice.”

In Senator Hurtado’s letter, she requests that the task force include Special Agents from the California Department of Justice to provide support to local law enforcement, to combat the rise of violence in Valley communities.

Recent incidents in the community surrounding McFarland have resulted in the canceling of a number of school related sports events for the McFarland Unified School District amid safety concerns.

About Senator Melissa Hurtado

Senator Melissa Hurtado represents a new generation of Latina leaders as the youngest woman ever elected to the California State Senate and a product of immigrant parents. Senator Hurtado represents the 14th Senate District and focuses on rural community issues that often go unheard — access to clean air and water, food insecurity and poverty, inequities in environmental policies, agriculture and access to health care. In July 2020, she was appointed to the national Biden Latino Leadership Committee alongside former Labor Secretary and current Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis – the only two California Latinas on the Committee.

For more information, visit Senator Hurtado’s Website here or find her on Twitter at @Senator_Hurtado

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