Rep. Klippert was too hard on grieving mother. Now he faces ethics complaint | Editorial

Rep. Brad Klippert says he was “shocked and surprised” that the Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance filed an ethics complaint against him, a sign of the lamentable disconnect between him and those pushing for major police reform.

A show of sympathy and understanding from Klippert could have helped ease the hurt caused by the Kennewick Republican’s line of questioning during several recent House Public Safety Committee hearings.

But Klippert continually pushed for answers from grief-stricken people testifying about their loved ones who were killed by police, seemingly unaware of their emotional stress.

This perceived lack of sensitivity spurred leaders of the alliance to complain about 11 statements by Klippert they believe violated the Legislative Code of Conduct, which requires state lawmakers to treat people with “respect, dignity and civility regardless of their status or position” and refrain from intimidating behavior.

Klippert told the Tri-City Herald he never wanted to “add to the pain” of people who were “grieving and already in pain.”

“That was not my goal,” he said.

But he maintains that it’s a legislator’s job to “get to the bottom” of issues during public hearings. And that is what he says he was attempting to do.

The Benton County sheriff’s deputy has been in law enforcement for 27 years and is a school resource officer in Benton City, and he is concerned with the unintended consequences he sees in several proposed bills that would change how police do their job.

He has written a guest column on this issue that can be found in the Opinion section of the Tri-City Herald website, explaining his position in more detail.

But on the issue of the ethics complaint, Klippert isn’t the only one who upset alliance members.

The organization also filed ethics complaints against Jenny Graham, R-Spokane, and Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, claiming their questioning in public hearings also was offensively inappropriate to people of color.

Sakara Remmu, the lead strategist for Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County, told The Seattle Times that “these representatives — who attempted to marginalize and discredit Black people by forcing them to litigate their testimony — are revealing the inherent bias that allows oppression to flourish.”

In a joint response reported in the Times, the three lawmakers said that, “Legislative committee hearings, which are open to the public, offer an important forum for the exchange of ideas and are critical to the legislative processes.

“Partisan efforts to intimidate or bully legislators into silence set a dangerous course toward limiting political speech in the very arena where it should be protected most: the Legislature.”

Agreed. There is supposed to be give-and-take during legislative public hearings, and legislators have a right to ask questions of people who are testifying.

But tone is everything — especially when the people coming forward are not professional lobbyists but average citizens sharing a personal tragedy so others can see another perspective.

Sonia Joseph testified in January in favor of House Bill 1054, which, as originally written, would ban chokeholds, use of tear gas, shooting at moving vehicles and use of unleashed police dogs — among other police tactics.

Joseph told the story of how her unarmed, 20-year-old son was killed by a Kent police officer in 2017 after an initial traffic stop at a convenience store.

At one point, she said that her son would not have been stopped if he were white.

Klippert pressed her on that point, asking her to provide evidence. When she used national statistics to make her point, Klippert said, “Then no specific evidence to support that your son specifically would not have been stopped if he was white?”

A bit of tact would have gone a long way. But in this particular case, Klippert came off as an interrogator with little concern for the feelings of a mother who has lost her son.

Certainly, lawmakers should be able to ask questions during public hearings. But those questions must be asked with an awareness and sensitivity, and they should bring new insight and help move the discussion forward.

Grilling average citizens over their heartbreaking stories only adds to their pain.

This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 2:32 PM.