Police should respond to mental health calls, AG says
Top officials in the Washington state Attorney General’s Office are refuting claims by police departments that new reform legislation prevents them responding to non-criminal calls.
The message comes in the form of a confidential memo issued by Assistant Attorney General Shelley Williams and Deputy Solicitor General Alicia O. Young, in response to a request from Democratic lawmakers Rep. Jesse Johnson (D-Federal Way) and Rep. Roger Goodman (D-Kirkland), who made the memo public on Thursday.
“Washington statutes and case law recognize responding to community caretaking calls as part of a law enforcement officer’s duties,” the memo reads in part. “Bill 1310 does not prohibit peace officers from responding to community caretaking calls, including mental health calls.”
Police departments across the state have announced drastic cuts to service and characterized those decisions as a response to a series of police reform and accountability laws that went into effect on July 25. In Thurston County, officers said they will not respond to mental health crises or conduct welfare checks unless a clear crime has been committed.
Much of the discrepancy in interpretations has centered on HB 1310, which sets a statewide standard for police use of force and establishes an expectation of “reasonable care” for officers.
HB 1310 allows police to use physical force when necessary to make an arrest or prevent an escape, or when there is “an imminent threat of bodily injury” to the officer, person in question, or someone else. It directs officers to exhaust available and appropriate de-escalation tactics before using force, use the least amount of force needed to overcome resistance, and take into account the characteristics of the person, such as whether they are pregnant, a minor, or are cognitively impaired.
The bill offers a list of possible tactics, including taking as much time as needed, repositioning, calling for backup or additional resources such as mental health workers, or leaving the scene “if there is no threat of imminent harm and no crime has been committed, is being committed, or is about to be committed.”
Some law enforcement officials — including the police chiefs in Olympia and Lacey — have interpreted those limitations on use-of-force as instructions not to engage with people until they witness a crime being committed.
“We are not going to respond to any of the calls or types of calls the legislature doesn’t want us to respond to,” Lacey Police Chief Robert Almada told The Olympian last week.
The AG memo is not a formal advisory opinion. In an email, a spokesperson for the AG’s office described it as “client advice that the client elected to share.”
Nonetheless, the wording of the memo directly contradicts the interpretation of the laws by some police departments, particularly of HB 1310.
“Nothing in the statute’s plain language indicates that specifying permissible uses of force prohibits an officer from responding to community caretaking calls,” the memo reads. “An interpretation that Bill 1310 limits or prohibits law enforcement officers from responding to calls that do not involve a crime — such as community caretaking calls to render aid — is contrary to legislative intent to preserve and protect all human life.”
The memo calls specific attention to language in HB 1310 that permits officers to use force when necessary to “protect against an imminent threat of bodily injury” to the officer, person in question, or someone else.
“[That language] indicates the statute anticipated that officers may respond to calls that do not involve a crime,” the memo says.
In a statement on Thursday, Goodman and Johnson, the Democratic lawmakers, said they hope the memo clarifies that police departments are able and expected to respond to non-criminal calls.
“Many, if not most, police departments have confirmed their continued commitment to respond to community caretaking calls and to serve their communities,” Goodman said. “We hope that those agencies that are now pausing will reconsider in light of this AGO guidance.”
Johnson says he plans to submit a list of questions from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs to get a formal AG opinion issued.
This story was originally published August 5, 2021 at 1:18 PM.
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