Kern County, California has the highest rate of killings by cops in the United States, and now we can see why. A just-released video from 2006 shows the county's current sheriff, Donny Youngblood (I kid you not), saying that it is "better financially" to kill people rather than simply injure them.
"You know what happens when a guy makes a bad shooting on somebody and kills them? Three million bucks and the family goes away after a long back and forth," Youngblood says. "Which way do you think is better financially – to cripple them or kill them – for the county?"
A man offscreen answers, "Kill them."
To which Youngblood responds, "Absolutely. Because if they're crippled we get to take care of them for life. And that cost goes way up."
According to The Guardian:
Kern county was the subject of a Guardian series after 13 people were killed there by law enforcement officers during 2015. During the same period, nine people were killed by the NYPD in all of New York City, which had almost 10 times as many residents and about 23 times as many law enforcement officers.
Youngblood has been Kern County's sheriff for over a decade, and is running for re-election this year. Why disgraceful people like this are even allowed to run for sheriff – or any position – is beyond me.