Killing County

In the documentary "The Killing County", the actions of the Coroner, the Sheriff Department and the Bakersfield Police Department exposes character flaws akin to a modern day "Greek Tragedy" or "Shakespearean Tragedy". There are so many instances of hubris, misplaced trust, pride and lack of self-control.

Damacio Diaz crashes like Icarus, Donny Youngblood's pride and arrogance like Julius Ceasar, etc.

The last "Modern Day Tragedy" film I saw about a homicide of an unarmed citizen was "Fruitvale Station" based on the 2009 shooting of Oscar Grant.

It was shocking and surreal how some individuals were intertwined in multiple shootings. You could not have script this to if you tried. This has to become an award winning documentary.

This story is told with news and deposition clips juxtaposed with interviews of local media, family of decedents, law enforcement, and journalists from the guardian, and some narrative actors. There is a drastic difference between how the decedents' families are lighted made up and shot. The make up artist also used the wrong kind of false eyelashes, making most if the surviving family look like ridiculous baby doll parodies. I am no make up fanatic, but the bad makeup, very different scene and shot compositions and lighting used for victims versus professionals interviewed is overtly distracting and does a disservice to victim family members by making them look cheap, when they are the driving force of the piece.

The physical and technical aspects of this documentary detract so much from the purported subject matter, I'm not sure what the message is supposed to be. Are we patronizing the pathetic denizens of Bakersfield, platforming professional experts, doing City Confidential Bakersfield, or revealing a story? The editing cuts between media records, reenactment narration, professional and victim interviews are too quick cut and don't move the story as much as distract. As the episodes unfold all these flaws become more and more apparent. Production is too clever by half. It's a Disappointing mess. The bones of a good documentary on law enforcement-resident conflict in a historically underserved community are here.

This documentary is an excellent piece of film making well directed and well put together it is thought provoking which is what a good documentary should do.

The cinematography and footage and background on the history of Bakersfield is an important part of the history and understanding of Kern county culture, founded by people from the dust bowl in search of a better life, who brought their culture with them and transplanted it to Kern county with all their fears and prejudices. These factors contributed to the present day issues facing Kern county , Law enforcement needs to be held accountable and the monies should come from their pension funds and not from taxpayers funds.

Police reform should be among the top priorities

I live in Kern county this documentary reveals The truth about Kern county where the county sheriff Donnie Youngblood said don't shot them and wound them and pay millions in medical shoot to kill them and pay the family three million dollars and the family goes away sheriff Donnie youngblood, guess how much the county pays these families , guess what three million dollars. That's all a life is worth in Kern County California, it's cheaper to shoot and kill them, than save them and pay for medical care.

The documentary is definitely thought provoking and gives an insight to the police murder capitol of America.

Disguisting!

Certainly, Bakersfield is infamous for its high crime rate, which is 85% above the national average. There's definitely a lot of strain on the police department. But the question remains, why do so many people have to die due to police intervention, and why doesn't the police department put processes into place to stop these deaths? As this document shows towards the end, simply implementing, or updating the guidelines for police officers would have a tremendous impact. This documentary is well-made, well researched, and offers good insight into the effects of aggressive police behavior on ordinary citizens.

A clear indictment on this disgraceful excuse for policing. Trigger happy cops with no respect for life - judge, jury, executioners.

The series showcases this throughout the series by showing repeat cases where the Bakersfield PD has clearly behaved with gross negligence and then covered for their officers. Perspectives from the victims families are shared, along with reporters who were following these cases at the time.

The disappointing aspect is the direction- they made a creative choice to use paid actors to read testimony and letters and they show these actors on screen who talk to the audience direct. It's so off putting, just read it via voiceover or summarise. It absolutely takes away from the flow. I also don't like the narrators voice or script - it's overwritten.