Kern County Sheriff's Office releases video of BearCat running over man accused of killing detective

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:12]The following presentation is intended to help bring context to the facts surrounding this case. Some of the video has been edited to protect the privacy of those involved and to avoid the release of information that state law prohibits the Sheriff's Office from releasing. The redactions and edits do not affect the depiction of events presented in this video. The following presentation contains a map of the location, body worn camera footage, drone footage, and photos of the scene.

[00:00:35]Viewer discretion is advised. On April 9th, 2026 at approximately 1:00 p.m.

[00:00:41]Kern County Sheriff's Office SWAT team responded to assist Tulare County Sheriff's Office during a critical incident which occurred in the 1700 block of West Bryan Avenue in Porterville, California. Tulare County Sheriff's Office deputies had attempted to contact a suspect during an eviction from the above residence. During this initial contact, Tulare County Sheriff's Office deputies encountered a suspect armed with a rifle and killed a Tulare County Sheriff's Office deputy. Kern County Sheriff's Office SWAT team arrived with specialized equipment to assist and began conducting evacuations with allied law enforcement agencies from the area. During this time, the suspect, David Morales, aged 59, continued shooting from inside his residence. Kern County Sheriff's Office SWAT, in conjunction with other tactical teams, attempted to negotiate a peaceful surrender while deploying specialized equipment to contain the suspect. Kern County Sheriff's Office specialized equipment included a BearCat and a Rook.

[00:01:31]The BearCat is an armored vehicle used during critical incidents to provide safe transport of Kern County Sheriff's Office personnel and members of the public. The Rook is also an armored vehicle with enhanced maneuverability with multiple functions for accessing inaccessible areas, removing obstacles, and breaching capabilities during incidents involving barricaded or armed subjects. At about 5:30 p.m., Morales shot and struck the Kern County Sheriff's Office Rook several times with a high-powered rifle from a barricaded position in the residence. The suspect's rounds penetrated the armor plating and compromised the ballistic glass of the rook. The Kern County Sheriff's Office SWAT operator maneuvering the rook withdrew to the front of the residence.

[00:02:09]During this time, Morales fled through a window into the backyard. Kern County Sheriff's Office SWAT operators maneuvered the BearCat into the yard to search for Morales. As SWAT searched, they observed the suspect hiding in thick brush in the backyard. The suspect was lying on his back in a shooting position armed with a rifle. Deputies observed the suspect aiming the high-powered rifle at the driver of the BearCat. The suspect remained in this position before deputies made the determination to use the BearCat as a means of deadly force.

[00:02:38]The following is body worn camera footage of a deputy on scene. Please note the body worn camera does not capture everything the deputy sees and the deputy does not see everything the body camera captures. The following footage demonstrates two perspectives, one from inside the BearCat and one from inside the rook while Morales shot at deputies.

[00:03:00]10-7 windows shots fired No other cars. Justin is dead.

[00:03:06]No other shots fired.

[00:03:09]Hey, you missed Justin.

[00:03:13]shots fired Keep going.

[00:03:18]Tear gas are being deployed.

[00:03:23]Lock it. Additional gunfire.

[00:03:25]Thermal drone footage captured Morales, who was armed, climbing out of the window of the residence in an apparent attempt to seek cover while laying in wait for responding deputies. The following footage has no audio.

[00:03:45]Deputies spotted Morales, armed and wearing camouflage and a mask, laying in wait while pointing the rifle at the driver of the BearCat.

[00:03:52]>> Driver's side?

[00:03:53]5 ft >> Our side of the fence. Our side of the fence, laying down, prone out, just up against the fence.

[00:04:00]The driver of the BearCat repositioned the vehicle and accelerated towards the suspect, during which time Morales fired and struck the driver's side window of the BearCat and the BearCat struck the tree that Morales was hiding under.

[00:04:11]During this time, the suspect fired additional shots, striking the driver's side and undercarriage of the BearCat.

[00:04:17]Deputies backed up and re-engaged Morales. Following the second engagement, they observed Morales was still armed and manipulating the firearm and reaching for a handgun in his waistband. Deputies again used the BearCat to run over the suspect a third and final time. The following is drone footage of the use of force. The following footage has no audio.

[00:04:42]Here you can see the gunshot to the driver's side window.

[00:05:21]At this point, the drone repositioned and captures the third and final use of force. Viewer discretion is advised.

[00:05:35]Here you can see Morales manipulating a firearm.

[00:06:00]>> Here is a closer look at the firearms in Morales' possession.

[00:06:14]The Visalia Police Department took the lead as the investigative agency for the Tulare County Sheriff's Office related shooting. Kern County Sheriff's Office detectives coordinated with Visalia Police Department to conduct a concurrent use of force investigation.

[00:06:26]Kern County Sheriff's Office Deputy Chad Clark was placed on routine critical incident leave pending the completion of the investigation. Kern County Sheriff's Office detectives investigate any use of deadly force by any member of the department. The investigation will be submitted to the Tulare County District Attorney's Office for criminal review.

[00:06:42]If an individual is being arrested by a peace officer, it is their duty to refrain from using force or any weapon to resist. A peace officer is justified in using deadly force upon another person only when the officer reasonably believes based on the totality of the circumstances that such force is necessary to defend against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury. The decision to use force shall be evaluated from the perspective of a reasonable law enforcement officer in the same situation based on the totality of the circumstances known to or perceived by the officer at the time, rather than with the benefit of hindsight, and that the totality of the circumstances shall account for occasions when officers may be forced to use quick judgment about using force. On May 12th, 2026, the Kern County Sheriff's Office convened an incident review board examining the use of force in this incident. The use of force was determined to be within policy. Anyone with additional information regarding this case is asked to call the Kern County Sheriff's Office at 661-861-3110 or Kern Secret Witness at 661-322-4040.

[00:07:42]Hi, I'm Rochelle Murcia with Eyewitness News Bakersfield Now on YouTube. Thank you for [music] checking out our YouTube channel where we have tons of great content to choose from. While you're here, go ahead and click on the subscribe button right there. [music] That way you can stay up to date on all the things related within Kern County.

[00:07:57]Thanks for watching.