WATCH: Sheriff of Deadliest Dept in US Says His Deputies Have Financial Incentive to “Kill” People

 Bakersfield, CA — The sheriff of Kern County, Donny Youngblood is on  the defensive this month after a local police union released a video in  which he states it is “better financially” for law enforcement officers to kill suspects than to injure them. According to KCDOA (Kern County Detention Officers Association), the  union who released the video, the footage is from an endorsement  interview with then Sheriff candidate Donny Youngblood. In a Facebook post this week, the union threw the sheriff under the bus, noting: 

The Kern County Detention Officers Association (KCDOA)  believes that the Kern County Sheriff’s Office is in desperate need of  positive changes for the betterment of all of Kern County citizens. Your  Detentions Deputies know it is time to elect a new Sheriff who will  bring a fresh approach and new ideas to tackle long standing issues  facing department administration. Recently, KCDOA reviewed archived video of an endorsement consideration interview with then Sheriff candidate Donny Youngblood prior to his first term in office.

In responding to a question posed to him regarding specific areas of Deputy training, Donny Youngblood said, “When a guy makes a bad shoot on somebody and kills them, $3 million dollars and the family goes away.” He continues, “When a deputy shoots somebody, which way is better financially? To cripple them or kill them for the county?” An off camera interview attendee states, “Kill them.” Donny Youngblood replies, “Absolutely, because if you cripple them you have to take care of them for life and that cost goes way up.” 

This sheriff stands behind his claims too. According to a five-part series by The Guardian, covering police killings in 2015, Kern County’s deputies and police officers are “America’s deadliest police.” 

According to the data, the county had more people killed by law  enforcement officers per capita than any other U.S. county. Six of the  13 people killed by law enforcement that year died at the hands of  Bakersfield city police officers. 

As the AJC  points out, “in that same time frame, nine people were killed by New  York police officers in a city with nearly 10 times the residents of  Kern County, which had a population of just under 875,000 in 2015. The  New York Police Department also had 23 times the police officers  patrolling the streets than Kern County did.” 

What’s more, the ACLU also found similar violent tendencies. 

 In a November 2017 report, the ACLU found that “both KCSO and BPD have  engaged in patterns and practices that violate civil rights. KCSO and  BPD officers have engaged in patterns of excessive  force—including shooting and beating to death unarmed individuals and  deploying canines to attack and injure— as well as a practice of filing  intimidating or retaliatory criminal charges against individuals they  subject to excessive force.

 Deficient oversight and  accountability structures have allowed law enforcement misconduct to go  unchecked and in some cases escalate.” Chris Ashley, a director of the police association, told the Guardian  that the group was “disgusted” by the sheriff’s remarks. “But we have  been disgusted with Donny Youngblood’s leadership for more than a  decade,” he said. However, they knew this video existed for years, yet they chose not  to release it until this year—coincidentally, as the sheriff seeks  re-election. 

Although the release of this video is an obvious attempt to smear a  political opponent, it does provide some much-needed insight into one of  the deadliest groups of government agents in the country. The video  below should serve as a wake up call to those who continue to ignore the  violence carried out on a daily basis by those sworn to protect. 

---

 We are the Free Thought Project — a hub for Free Thinking conversations about the promotion of liberty and the daunting task of government accountability. All of our content was created by our team of artists and writers. Learn more about us on our website thefreethoughtproject.com.