BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Kern County Sheriff's Department will remain under federal oversight for an additional two years after a judge extended a Department of Justice agreement that has already cost taxpayers $4 million over five years.
Sheriff Donny Youngblood discussed the extension during his monthly interview with 23ABC, expressing frustration with the prolonged federal monitoring that began more than 10 years ago.
"In all fairness, we've been under this investigation for over 10 years, and Kamala Harris was the attorney general who started it," Youngblood said. "And we thought we were close to the end. We didn't agree to extend it. The judge extended it for two years."
The county spends $1.2 million to $1.3 million in taxpayer dollars annually for federal monitoring, according to Youngblood. He said the department is working on policies "one policy at a time," but noted that some requirements are non-negotiable, which creates delays.
Deputy-involved shooting review continues
Youngblood also addressed a recent deputy-involved shooting in Lake Isabella, where newly released video showed the extent of non-lethal options used before the shooting occurred.
"They were very patient. The threat to their life didn't occur obviously until they pulled the trigger, but a lot of things occurred before that, where they tried to take him into custody with less lethal means and use all kinds of tactics," Youngblood said. "Once he got on the freeway, it changed the dynamics."
The sheriff noted that the suspect was firing a gun, creating danger even when not directly aimed at officers.
"That's dangerous, just even if he's not pointing at you, so those bullets are coming down somewhere, and you don't know how quickly he's gonna turn and point the gun at you," Youngblood said.
Property room audit completed
Following the arrest of Sergeant Dunbier for allegedly taking items from the property room, the department completed an audit that found no missing property. Dunbar is no longer employed with the department.
"We hate it when that happens, but we hire from the human race, and when you hire from the human race, you get human beings, and it's unfortunate," Youngblood said.
The sheriff praised the new property room safeguards, which helped detect the alleged misconduct when a lieutenant was notified during her day off and pursued the investigation.
Staffing remains an ongoing challenge
The department currently operates at approximately 89% of total staffing, with recruitment events held almost weekly.
The staffing challenges extend beyond uniformed personnel to civilian employees and dispatchers, who face competition from other agencies offering better schedules.
"The professional staff is, you know, that you could work midnight at Lerdo or you can work for days of weekends off at behavior health or public health, and that's a difficult task for us to try and recruit when they can go do that," Youngblood said.
Community events planned
The department has several upcoming community events, including a tri-tip fundraiser for Sergeant George, who is battling pancreatic cancer, and the annual Honor Run at Hart Park to raise money for surviving children of officers.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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