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Guardian Report Calls Kern County 'America's Deadliest Police'

The Guardian

A new report from the British newspaper The Guardian says Kern County leads the nation when it comes to use of deadly force by law enforcement.

According to numbers published by the paper, 13 people have died this year in connection with the use of force by law enforcement in the county. That’s higher than the total for New York City, which has ten times the population.

There have been one and a half deaths for every 100-thousand residents in Kern County this year, three times higher than Cook County in Illinois and Miami-Dade County in Florida.

The report highlights what some critics say is a climate that condones law enforcement shootings and other misconduct.

The Bakersfield Police Chief, Kern County Sheriff, and county District Attorney all declined to comment to Valley Public Radio until the paper’s five part series is complete.

The Guardian’s data includes all deaths involving use of force, not just firearms.

The paper’s report focused on two Bakersfield police officers: one who shot and killed three within two months in 20-10 and another officer who has killed four people in his time with the force.

Of the 54 fatal officer involved shootings reviewed by the Guardian, 49 of them were ruled as justified by internal staff reviews.

In July, the Kern County DA announced they would be reviewing all officer involved shootings involving injury or death and all uses of force involving death. The office had already been reviewing cases for smaller departments.

Jeffrey Hess is a reporter and Morning Edition news host for Valley Public Radio. Jeffrey was born and raised in a small town in rural southeast Ohio. After graduating from Otterbein University in Columbus, Ohio with a communications degree, Jeffrey embarked on a radio career. After brief stops at stations in Ohio and Texas, and not so brief stops in Florida and Mississippi, Jeffrey and his new wife Shivon are happy to be part Valley Public Radio.