One lawmaker should not thwart proposed changes to WA’s police pursuit law | Opinion
Heading into this year’s legislative session, House and Senate Republican leaders told the Tri-City Herald editorial board that adjusting the 2021 police pursuit law was a top priority.
Turns out it’s a high priority for a number of Democrats as well.
A bipartisan bill making it easier for police to go after suspected criminals made it out of a House committee last week, which is encouraging.
Trouble is, Senate Deputy Majority Caucus Leader Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, likes the law the way it is and has indicated she would keep House Bill 1363 from being heard if it makes it over to her chamber.
When there’s bipartisan agreement on such a high profile problem, it’s disturbing that one person might keep the conversation from moving forward.
Even Gov. Jay Inslee has indicated he is willing to accept some changes to the current law.
Dhingra should, at the very least, give her Senate colleagues the chance to consider the bill. If it fails, it fails. That’s how lawmaking works.
But an issue of this magnitude shouldn’t be stopped part way through the process by one Senate leader — especially when 55 legislators have signed on to HB 1363 and its companion, Senate Bill 5352.
The pursuit law was changed in 2021 as part of an overall police reform effort, but law enforcement officials and a number of politicians from both sides of the aisle now agree it went too far.
It used to be police had more discretion and could pursue a suspect if there was “reasonable suspicion.”
Now, there must be “probable cause,” which means officers essentially have to see someone in the act of committing a crime before they can give chase. Even a witness account isn’t good enough.
It didn’t take long for criminals to become bolder under the new pursuit law.
And a recent incident in Richland has been highlighted on the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs website showing how tricky some situations can be.
A couple weeks ago a possible suspect in a shooting rammed two police cars as he drove away and eluded arrest. Fortunately, officers were not in the cars so no one was hurt.
Legally, police couldn’t pursue the suspect even though he was considered armed and dangerous because he was only wanted for illegal gun possession. He was eventually arrested in Las Vegas, but so far he has not been charged with shooting anyone.
Currently, the rules restrict pursuits to crimes involving violence, sex, or suspected drunk drivers — and only when police have probable cause that such a crime has occurred.
The Richland suspect didn’t fit those criteria, so police had to let him flee.
In addition, the Washington State Patrol reported that since the pursuit law restrictions were enacted, more drivers are refusing to stop. Between 2014 and 2020, an average of 1,200 drivers a year fled from police. In 2022, after the change, 3,100 drivers fled from police, a spike of over 150%.
Dhingra and others, however, believe the changes to the pursuit law have saved lives, especially bystanders and pedestrians.
In order to appease those who want changes made, she supports a proposal that would kick the issue to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission to study the issue and come up with a proposal by 2024.
The Sheriffs and Police Chiefs countered that idea with a post on its website, saying that public safety “is not an experiment to be studied” and that our communities cannot wait for years for change.
We agree. A study alone is not enough when a compromise is needed now.
While HB 1363 would allow officers to pursue suspects for reasonable suspicion and who pose “serious risk of harm to others,” it would not simply return the pursuit law to its earlier version.
It also requires extra pursuit training for officers, as well as extra communication strategies to make sure bystanders are kept out of harm’s way.
It also includes a sunset clause for 2025 so the current law could return if lawmakers thought that was necessary.
If Democrats and Republicans in the House are willing to compromise on the pursuit law, then members of the Senate should have that chance too. One lawmaker should not stall the process.
This story was originally published February 22, 2023 at 12:50 PM.