Hulu’s Killing County: Jorge Ramirez Murder – The ABC News Studios and Kaepernick Media-produced Hulu docuseries explores how a fatal hotel shooting transforms a family and town in the presence of its police department.
The Michaela Dowd-directed series, which features André Holland as the narrator and Kaepernick and Robe Imbriano as executive producers, focuses on the police department in Bakersfield, California, and the 2013 shooting death of Jorge Ramirez following a shootout that involved several police officers in a hotel parking lot.
Before the Killing County teaser debuted on Hulu, executive producer Colin Kaepernick declared, “This is one of the most powerful productions I’ve ever been involved with.” Colin is bringing a heartbreaking story of a murder, a police cover-up, and a family’s commitment to telling the truth to ABC News Studios.
Jorge Ramirez, 34, was shot and killed by police in a sting operation in September 2013. Although the father of five was an informant, that was not the narrative that officials eventually sold to the public.
Even though Ramirez had definitely made some blunders in the past, the night he was slain, he was trying his best to do the responsible thing. His family determined to find the truth since they never trusted the police’s account of what happened. May each of us be surrounded by people who are as courageous and committed as Jorge Ramirez’s family.
Who Was Jorge Ramirez and How Did He Die?
According to Bakersfield.com, the police’s account of the circumstances surrounding Jorge Ramirez’s death omitted several fairly significant details. The media site put together a timeline of Ramirez’s final 10 hours, most of which were conveniently covered up by the authorities.
All of this started when Ramirez accepted a deal from the police asking him to turn agent in return for a postponement of a scheduled narcotics trial. Ramirez was at the time friendly with Justin Harger, a man who was wanted for a crime. Ramirez was supposed to persuade Harger to accept a casual meetup. Unfortunately, things went horribly wrong and killed them both.
Ramirez had repeated conversations with his “manager,” Officer Lerry Esparza, on the night of the incident. Despite being off duty, Esparza spent the evening communicating with the officers handling the investigation on behalf of Ramirez. There are various discrepancies in later accounts of what actually transpired, but one recurring theme was that official said they were unaware Ramirez was a spy and lacked an identification of him.
Although Harger initially met Ramirez at his house, cops never installed monitoring equipment there. Later, detectives would assert that although an unmarked van was parked outside Ramirez’s house, they might have missed the two men’s leave. When Harger and Ramirez stopped at an Arco gas station, cops once more chose not to pick him up.
Around 12:43 a.m., Ramirez and Harger arrived at the Four Points by Sheraton. Police approached the van as soon as they parked in the area. They insisted that Harger was in the passenger seat when, in fact, he was behind the wheel, causing a flurry of confusion. Ramirez was shot many times when he tried to flee the authorities, presuming they knew he was an informant. Once more, the responding police insisted they had no identification of Ramirez and were unaware that he was assisting them. Police withheld this information for a few weeks, up until Jorge Ramirez’s family started looking into it.
Did Jorge Ramirez Family Get Justice?
The murders in County don’t end with Jorge Ramirez’s death. As a result of his family’s dedication to sharing their son’s tale, the Bakersfield Police Department’s violent behavior was revealed. They weren’t the only family to lose a member in a shooting involving the police.
Sadly, Ramirez refused to sign any documents designating him as an informant. But ultimately, it was discovered that not only was Ramirez collaborating with law enforcement but also the two detectives (Diaz and Mara) were engaged in criminal activity.
According to KGET, “Diaz and Mara were each given five years behind bars in October 2016 for exploiting their jobs as cops to steal meth and marijuana they had found while on duty and utilizing a third individual to get the drugs back on the market and benefit from their sales.” This was the decisive factor in the Bakersfield Police Department’s downfall, but it was only the beginning.
Watch Killing County on Hulu beginning on Friday, February 3, for more information on this extraordinarily poignant tale.
Read Also: Danny and Kim Daniels Murders: Where Is Jerry Scott Heidler Now?
