BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Kern County Sheriff’s Office is pushing back after the California Department of Justice asked a court for two more years to continue supervising the agency, following a stipulated judgment entered in 2020. A judge granted the extension, but Sheriff Donny Youngblood says his office has done its part — and that the delays are coming from the other side.

In court documents obtained by ABC23, the DOJ outlined areas where KCSO needed to improve, including use-of-force related to canines, stops, searches, and seizures, responding to people in behavioral health crises, personnel complaints, and supervisorial oversight.

In its request to extend the supervisory period, the DOJ noted the sheriff’s office is in full compliance with requirements related to responding to behavioral health crises, language access, recruitment, and community policing. However, the office is only partially compliant or noncompliant with requirements related to the use of force, stops, searches, and seizures, and supervisorial oversight.

Lawyers for the DOJ wrote in the request:

“Although many of KCSO’s revised policies are finalized, they must be developed into trainings and, most importantly, adequately reflected in KCSO’s policing practices on the ground, and those outcomes must be maintained for one year.”

To see Sam Hoyle’s report on the DOJ claims, click here.

Youngblood disputed that characterization during a studio interview, saying the office has met its deadlines and that the monitors have not.

“We meet the milestones, we meet the deadlines. We have no incentive to carry this on any further, so we meet all those. DOJ monitors have not met those. They have not met the deadlines, and there’s a million dollars a year that they make to continue this,” Youngblood said.

In a reply to the state’s request for extended supervision, the county argued it has been trying to meet the requirements, but that limited metrics make it difficult to determine whether reforms are taking hold. The county also argued that delays in reviewing information provided to the state and the monitoring team have limited the office’s ability to make greater strides toward reform.

County counsel wrote in that reply:

“Despite the best efforts of the KCSO and the County, the lack of reciprocal diligence by our partners regarding some of the requirements of the Stipulated Judgement has significantly undermined the KCSO’s ability to demonstrate compliance.”

The county offered this statement following the court’s decision: “The County acknowledges the court’s recent decision to grant the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) motion to extend the Stipulated Judgment. While the County opposed the DOJ’s request, it remains committed to continuing collaborative efforts with all parties to achieve full compliance.”

Youngblood said the office went to court to expedite the process, but the judge granted the DOJ two additional years.

“We went to court to get this to speed up, and the judge gave him two more years. We’re good with two more years. We think we’ll be done less than that,” Youngblood said.

A KCSO spokesperson said the extension could be shortened if the office achieves full compliance and is working diligently toward that goal.

Youngblood acknowledged that when the process began, the office had policies it was not consistently following.

“We had policies that we weren’t necessarily following, and we admitted to that. We didn’t realize it, but we’ve admitted it and tightened it up. We have policies, and we hold people accountable. It’s all we can do,” Youngblood said.

He also noted that the oversight process was initiated under then-Attorney General Kamala Harris in 2016 and that Kern County was specifically selected.

“This was started by then Attorney General Kamala Harris. We’re a conservative county. We’re the only county that they cherry-picked. They got the Bakersfield Police Department as well,” Youngblood said.

On the subject of use of force and canine deployments, Youngblood was direct about what has and has not changed.

“The laws are the same. If you threaten a deputy with a deadly weapon, you’d better be prepared to meet your maker. If you commit a violent felony and you run from the officers, and there’s a canine there, he’s probably gonna bite your ass. They’re gonna go to KMC and get stitches. That hasn’t changed. We don’t wanna do that. We want people to comply, but they tend not to,” Youngblood said.

Youngblood said the office remains open about its progress and is not avoiding scrutiny.

“We’re not hiding from anything. We’re very open and transparent, but it’s very difficult to deal with someone who is in no hurry to get done when we are,” Youngblood said.

ABC23 reached out to the DOJ on Monday morning for comment, but did not hear back by news time.

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.

Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere: