Earlier this week, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a dozen bills that advocates believe will improve police accountability in Washington state, and create the nation’s strongest police accountability system.
One of the pillars of the police accountability bills signed by the governor is HB 1267. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Debra Entenman, will create an Office of Independent Investigations. The office will be designed to conduct competent, unbiased investigations of police use of excessive force, and will report directly to the governor. The investigations by the office will be required to be truly independent of the involved law enforcement agency.
Last year, the governor convened a task force comprised of police accountability advocates as well as representatives of law enforcement. HB 1267 reflects the recommendations of that task force.
According to Inslee, the legislation was made possible due to tireless advocacy of families and communities hurt most by inequitable application of violence.
“This legislation will be complemented by legislation concerning state oversight and accountability of peace officers, requirements for tactics, permissible uses of force and other crucial legislation awaiting my signature today,” Inslee said.
In addition, Inslee signed legislation that will prohibit certain uses of force and will require more thorough oversight requirements for hiring and for reporting misconduct.
“The crises of the past year have unmasked long-standing inequities in our society. The consciousness of our state and nation has been raised against inequity in many forms,” Inslee said. “Our moral mandate to acknowledge these hard truths crystallized in the fallout from the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, and the killing of Manny Ellis in Tacoma. The bills I am signing today respect these truths and lay a solid foundation to halt inequity’s pernicious influence in our systems of government.”
Katrina Johnson — cousin of Charleena Lyles who was killed in Seattle in June of 2017 —praised the legislation being signed and thanked the governor and state for allowing impacted families to lead in policy discussions, as they are “experts of [their] experience.”
“To the impacted families, take a bow in knowing your loved ones death is not in vain,” Johnson said. “Today, we stand united in strength and bonded together in pain and blood. We celebrate on this bill signing day, and tomorrow it is back to work on implementation.”
SB 5051, also signed by Inslee and sponsored by Sen. Jamie Pedersen, will increase oversight and accountability requirements for the state’s law enforcement and corrections officers.
In order to increase transparency and accountability, the bill:
• Changes certification and background check requirements for police officers,
• Requires more thorough internal reviews if there is misconduct by an officer, and
• Requires more consistent reporting of such by law enforcement agencies.
Under this legislation, the public may now see the results of internal investigations and know whether an officer was previously held accountable for misconduct.
The killing of George Floyd in Minnesota last year brought a newfound attention to use-of-force tactics employed by law enforcement officers. HB 1054, sponsored by Rep. Jesse Johnson, responds to those valid concerns and establishes requirements for tactics and equipment used by officers.
The bill prohibits chokeholds and neck restraints, restricts vehicular pursuits, and limits the use of tear gas. It creates a consistent statewide standard for these tactics, and provides greater oversight when they are employed by officers.
“Many of these tactics have been used disproportionately against people of color, and are seen as a means of suppression of lawful activities, including free speech,” Inslee said. “This is an important step toward ensuring that all people are treated equally by Washington law enforcement officers.”
The governor also signed nine additional bills aimed at improving accountability and confidence in law enforcement statewide. Those include:
• HB 1310 (J. Johnson) Concerning permissible uses of force
• SB 5066 (Dhingra) Concerning a peace officer’s duty to intervene
• SB 5259 (Nobles) Concerning law enforcement data collection
• SB 5263 (Frockt) Concerning defenses in personal injury and wrongful death actions
• SB 5353 (Conway) Creating a partnership model that facilitates community engagement with law enforcement
• HB 1088 (Lovick) Concerning potential impeachment disclosures
• HB 1140 (J. Johnson) Concerning juvenile access to attorneys when contacted by law enforcement
• HB 1223 (Peterson) Enacting the uniform electronic recordation of custodial interrogations act
• HB 1089 (Ramos) Concerning compliance audits of requirements relating to peace officers
While advocates for police accountability are celebrating the signing of these new bills into law, The Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance (WBLMA) warns that while these bills collectively are a step in the right direction there is still more work to be done.
“These bills mark a potential sea change in how police in Washington interact with people in communities they’re hired to serve—especially Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color,” said WBLMA in a statement. “No more choking. No more deadly force except as a last resort. Deadly force will be independently investigated. Excessive force by one cop must be stopped by another, and its cause for decertification.”
“These and other measures are the result of residents throughout the state demanding an end to abuse at the hands of law enforcement and systems that should be there to protect us. Thousands upon thousands of people called, wrote, texted and testified,” the statement continued. “The people of Washington got these bills passed, and the people of Washington stand vigilant to ensure they’re carried out.”
