*And we wonder where they get it from. The top is the answer!
If the top of the police food chain — the Sheriff — believes it’s financially better to kill a suspect than cripple him, is it any wonder why officers are so poorly trained on how to handle suspects in the streets. Is it any surprise they think its OK to shoot first and ask questions later?
Recently a video surfaced showing Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, who has led the department for more than a decade, talking to officers and telling them that killing a suspect instead of injuring them costs less and makes the family go away.
Don’t take my word for it, scroll down and listen for yourself.
In the video Youngblood is seated at a table, maybe on a stage or int the front of a room, speaking. He asks the group…
?You know what happens when a guy makes a bad shooting and somebody kills them??
Then says…
?Three million bucks and the family goes away after a long back and forth.?
He continues…
?When a deputy shoots someone in the streets, which way do you think is better financially?to cripple them or kill them?for the county?? Youngblood asks. When someone replied, ?Kill them,? Youngblood responded, ?Absolutely. Because if they?re crippled we get to take care of them for life. And that cost goes way up.?
SMDH.
Judging by the amount of police killings on Black folk, it’s probably safe to assume officers outside of Kern County got the sheriff’s memo, too.
The video was discovered and posted, surprisingly, by the Kern County Detention Officers Association, on Monday. They have called for the sheriff to be replaced. The group spoke with the Guardian and said that the full hour of video contains even more concerning quotes and that they were ?disgusted? by it.
Chris Ashley, director of the KCDOA added, ?But we have been disgusted with Donny Youngblood?s leadership for more than a decade.?
Now Youngblood is running for re-election against his chief deputy, Justin Fleeman. This campaign will mark the first time he is up against an opponent since taking office.
Fleeman has been endorsed by all three unions of officers in Kern County?s Sheriff?s Department.
Take a look at the video below and holla back with your thoughts.
Oh, before I go, when the sheriff was approached he said his words were “taken out of context.”
Now just to show that I can be fair and unbiased, in his defense he MAY not have been soliciting that this what officers SHOULD do, just speaking logistically. Still, he must realize this would not be taken lightly.
You are free to barf now.
Thanks to The Root Newsletter.
