Accountability measures limiting police chases could be rolled back under new bills
Bipartisan measures to rollback police accountability laws passed in 2021 have been introduced in the Washington State Legislature.
Sponsored by Rep. Alicia Rule, D-Blaine, and Rep. Eric Robertson, R-Sumner, House Bill 1363 would restore the reasonable suspicion threshold for police to pursue drivers they believe have committed crimes.
A companion bill also was introduced in the Senate and is sponsored by Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, and Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton.
In 2021, House Bill 1054 was passed by the Legislature and later signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee. The law prevents police officers from engaging in vehicle pursuits in certain instances, but still allowed officers to pursue suspects if they had reasonable suspicion to believe a driver was under the influence, or if there was probable cause that a driver had committed violent or sexual crimes.
Reasonable suspicion comes before probable cause, and means that a police officer has reason to believe a crime has been committed. Reasonable suspicion becomes probable cause when a crime has obviously been committed.
Since the law went into effect, law enforcement agencies say there has been an increase in people driving away during traffic stops.
Rule said in a news release sent out Tuesday that the decision to sponsor the legislation came from meetings with law enforcement officers as well as her constituents. It became clear to her, she said, that a change in the pursuit laws had become necessary.
“Criminals know they can run and are taking advantage of well-intentioned reforms meant to curb unnecessary injuries and deaths from vehicle pursuits,” she said in the press statement.
She said she voted against the policy change in 2021 and thinks the law did not have the intended effects.
“We cannot let criminals have a free pass,” Rule said. “A one-size-fits-all pursuit policy simply does not work for every community in our state, and this bill will allow police agencies to set their own pursuit policies.”
Robertson said as a retired Washington State Patrol trooper he has been involved in pursuits many times.
“I’ve made the decision to safely conduct a pursuit against someone violating the law, and I’ve also made the decision to end a pursuit out of safety concerns for myself, the traveling public, and our communities,” he said in the news release. “Law enforcement professionals depend on this discretion in split-second decisions.
“I’m glad we’re finding common ground to correct current statute to allow troopers, deputies, and officers to engage in a vehicular pursuit if there is reasonable suspicion the person in the vehicle has or is committing a crime. Our law enforcement professionals need this discretionary tool put back into their toolbox.”
Not everyone agrees that the law needs to be rolled back, however.
The Washington Coalition for Police Accountability, an organization that helped write previous years’ police accountability bills, was quick to respond to sponsors of the latest legislation. They noted in a press release sent out Tuesday that they believe the current law is meeting the goal of saving people’s lives, and that they do not support either of the new measures.
WCPA also noted that they believe HB 1054 “addressed a number of law enforcement tactics that were dangerous and led to unintended injuries and deaths.”
“We sincerely believe that if this law is rolled back, there will be a sharp increase of fatalities of bystanders and passengers,” WCPA continued. “That is a high cost, is not necessary, and the policy change cannot be explained or justified.
“With all due respect, SB 5352 and HB 1363 are too broad, would institute a poor practice, and send a clear message that human life is not important at all,” WCPA added.
“We realize the difference in philosophy over the 2021 law is significant. However, it has become a scapegoat and is blamed for virtually everything. In actuality, current law restricting vehicular pursuits is not the cause of retail theft, gun violence, and it didn’t cause the uptick in auto theft,” they said.
The 105-day legislative session will adjourn on April 23.
This story was originally published January 18, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
