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…