Financially, It's Better To Kill Than 'Cripple,' Sheriff Says

KERN COUNTY, CA — The sheriff of a county that recently had the highest rate of police shootings in America is coming under fire over a video of him saying the county is financially better off if deputies kill suspects instead of wounding them. The video, which was recorded 12 years ago and released on Monday by the Kern County Detention Officers Association, shows Sheriff Donny Youngblood answering questions about deputy training.

Youngblood says he believes detention deputies probably received more training at the time than a deputy sheriff "ever did" working for a jail." But it's what he says next that has led to outrage.

"And there's a good reason for that," he says in an endorsement consideration interview. "Millions and millions of dollars. You don't see the loss — do you know what happens when a guy commits a bad shooting on somebody and kills them? $3 million bucks, the family goes away after a long back-and-forth and back-and-forth."

After talking about the numerous variables that factor into incidents with inmates, Youngblood says it's no different than when a deputy shoots someone on the streets.

"Which way do you think is better financially? To cripple them or kill them? For the county," he says.

When someone off camera responds "kill them," Youngblood replies "Absolutely."

"Because if you cripple them, we get to take care of them for life and that cost goes way up," he says. "And the same thing happens to a death of a person in a correctional facility."

The interview happened before Youngblood's first term in office.

In 2015, The Guardian profiled Kern County, which includes Bakersfield, and said police there killed more people per capita than any other county in the U.S that saw five or more officer-involved killings. The news outlet pegged the number at 13 people killed by police in a country that at the time had a population of just under 875,000 — that's a clip of 1.5 police killings per 100,000 residents.

For context, the third highest county, San Bernardino County, had a rate of one police killing per 100,000 residents.

The detention officers union said in a Facebook post associated with the video that the county sheriff’s office is in "desperate need of positive changes" for the betterment of its 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," the group said.

Kevin Dees, president of the group, told Bakersfield.com the group had been sifting through the video to find any possibly unfulfilled campaign promises when they came across the candid remarks. The union is supporting opponent Justin Fleeman in this year's election.

Youngblood told the news outlet the remarks were taken out of context and stemmed from a dialogue about a 2005 beating death of someone who was in custody. He said he was attempting to explain that it's costly for the county when a deputy does something bad.

“I’ve never inferred that we should shoot to kill,” Youngblood told the outlet.

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