Bakersfield police released a video debriefing Tuesday detailing an Oct. 14 encounter in which police say a man fired at officers before an officer-involved shooting left one person dead.

Officers attempted to stop two males riding together on a scooter around 9:15 p.m. in the 1000 block of Pacheco Road, the department said.

Police said the pair matched descriptions of suspects in a shooting earlier that week in East Bakersfield. Those suspects were described as wearing masks and black sweatshirts and riding together on a scooter.

Officers initiated a traffic stop because the scooter carried an additional passenger, according to the department. The pair failed to stop for the police vehicle’s lights and sirens and fled, police said. During the pursuit, one threw a beverage at the vehicle’s windshield.

Officers saw one of the males, identified as Daniel James Ruiz, 23, reach toward his waistband, police said. When officers exited their vehicle, Ruiz drew a semiautomatic pistol and began firing at them, according to the department.

One person was struck by gunfire and pronounced dead at the scene despite receiving medical aid. The department’s account did not explicitly identify the person killed, saying the Kern County coroner’s office would release that person’s identity.

Police identified the second person on the scooter as a 16-year-old boy. Officers searching for him found an additional firearm, and he was ultimately arrested on firearm- and gang-related charges, the department said.

Police said a recovered pistol was the same caliber as the firearm used in the earlier shooting.

Bakersfield PD Identify Officers Involved

The department identified the involved officers as Thomas Jannuzi, Dillon Cravens, and Rudy Ulloa-Berumen. Jannuzi and Ulloa-Berumen joined the department in December 2021, and Cravens joined in March 2023.

None had previously been involved in an officer-involved shooting, according to the department. All three remain on routine administrative leave, the department said.

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