‘I want my son back’: Docuseries ‘Killing County’ continues to spark heated debate on policing in Kern County more than a year after its release
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The Colin Kaepernick-produced Hulu docuseries that took Kern County by storm more than a year ago, “Killing County” is still sparking heated conversations as community members joined Thursday night to discuss policing in Kern.
The docuseries “Killing County” — released more than a year ago — brought community members to a sort of community therapy, or healing session. The passion for healing trauma and pushing for change kept them there.
“It’s never going to go away, it’s always going to be there,” one community member said.
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“You are teaching us to heal,” another community member said.
The docuseries explores police violence in Kern County. Judy Alderman appeared in the series and said even with the series’ release, lives lost at the hands of Kern County law enforcement still remains a problem.
“If we don’t keep it up front and open, people forget about it and then it happens again,” Judy Alderman Edens said. “But if we keep talking about it, they’ll realize we’re not going anywhere and we want change in our community.”
Alderman lost her son, 29-year-old Jason Alderman, after he was shot and killed during a burglary in 2015 by Bakersfield Police officers.
“I want my son back,” Alderman Edens said.
She says it still feels like it happened yesterday.
“So many police forces believe they can be judge, executioner, and you can’t do that,” she said. “My son deserved to go to jail and come home and I didn’t get that.”
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No police agencies were invited to attend the event and organizers say that was intentional.
“I think the goal here is to hold the emotions with each other and just understand each other,” ACLU Policy Advocate and organizer Lizeth Calderon said.
“Like when folks have the same experience they understand each other but when an officer is on the side of the one committing that tragedy they often have a different understanding. So a safe space to us means a shared understanding where we can relate on the past, the emotions, the present emotions, and really discuss what change is needed.”
Many are hopeful for change, but growing skeptical will happen.
“In time. It’s a very slow slow process,” Alderman Edens said.
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17 News reached out to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and a spokesperson said in a statement: “We have a great relationship with our community. We continue to make great strides with our community groups that we meet with regularly.”
Chief Greg Terry of the Bakersfield Police Department provided 17 News with the following statement: “The Bakersfield Police Department believes building trusting relationships with our community is essential for a safe and healthy community. We will continue to proactively build trust through the delivery of compassionate and professional services with transparency, engagement, and collaborative problem-solving partnerships.”
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