A Kern County, California, SWAT team shot and killed my father, Lyle Federman, in 1998. He had no criminal record. He was accused of no crime. The police had no warrant. He was an eccentric, nature-loving computer programmer that wanted to be left alone. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a jury could find that the police “used excessive force” and violated his constitutional rights when they broke into his home and shot him 18 times while “he was surrendering...” Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Humes published the book “Mean Justice” exposing Kern County’s brutality and corruption. Recently, Hulu ran “Killing County,” a series highlighting the county’s pattern of corruption, coverups and excessive force.
Antisemitism was also at play. Before my father was killed, he was antagonistically asked if he was Christian after the officer had already been told he was a rabbi and Jewish (the officer admitted to this in deposition testimony). That’s why it rattled me to learn that Border Patrol field leader Gregory Bovino allegedly mocked a Minnesota U.S. attorney’s Orthodox faith and Shabbat observance just one day before six career federal prosecutors reportedly resigned over the Justice De
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