Video Surfaces Of Kern Co. Sheriff Saying 'Better Financially' To Kill Suspects Than Wound Them

BAKERSFIELD (CBS13) – An election fight in Central California has led to the resurfacing of a video featuring controversial comments from the Kern County sheriff.

Donny Youngblood, the current Ken County sheriff, was apparently seeking the endorsement of the Kern County Detention Officers Association back in 2006.

Video taken during the endorsement consideration interview features Youngblood posting the question, ""When a deputy shoots somebody, which way is better financially? To cripple them or kill them for the county?"

A person off camera can then be heard stating, "Kill them?"

"Absolutely," Youngblood replies, "because if you cripple them you have to take care of them for life and that cost goes way up."

The video was released by the Kern County Detention Officers Association, who have endorsed Youngblood's opponent in the coming election.

The Kern County Detention Officers Association believes that the Kern County Sheriff's Office is in desperate need of positive changes for the betterment of all of Kern County citizens," the group said in a Facebook post accompanying the video.

Youngblood told local media that his words in the video are being taken out of context.

Kern County's sheriff's department have been called "America's deadliest police," as chronicled in a 2015 article in the Guardian. Youngblood has been in office since 2006.