April 18, 2023 The decision as to when to pursue suspects should be left to trained police officers, not legislators, says the GOP leader of Washington’s Senate about a pursuit-reform bill he thinks doesn’t go far enough.
By Shari Phiel Source The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
When Senate Bill 5352 was passed by the state House of Representatives last week, Republican lawmakers were quick to criticize the bill for not going far enough to restore law enforcement’s ability to capture suspected criminals and to correct the mistakes of police reform bills passed in 2021.
Republican Senate Leader Sen. John Braun, who represents a portion of Clark County, called the bill a “half-step” in the right direction.
“While I appreciate that the majority allowed a pursuit-reform bill to pass the Legislature, I am disappointed that certain legislators, through their own hubris, posed such an enormous barrier to improving public safety,” Braun said in a statement released following the House vote.
Braun also took issue with changes made to the bill by House Democrats, which were approved by the Senate on Monday.
“Despite SB 5352 being inadequate, I know my Democratic colleagues will say they acted on pursuit reform. I voted ‘no’ because SB 5352 is simply not enough. This is not over. Republicans will continue to fight for additional pursuit reform. We must do better,” Braun said in the statement.
The decision as to when to pursue suspects should be left to trained police officers, not legislators, Braun argued. He said the majority’s political maneuvering shows a lack of trust in the police.
Steven D. Strachan, executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, was somewhat more supportive of the bill but agreed more work needs to be done to support police.
“We are pleased that the Washington State House of Representatives has passed a measure with bipartisan support to address the 2021 pursuit law. Legislators showed leadership and support for victims of crime,” Strachan said in an April 11 statement.
Strachan said the recent legislation makes incremental improvements to the 2021 law.
“We appreciate the bipartisan work that has been done, and will continue to be required, on this important public safety issue, and we are committed to advocating for balanced approaches that respect victims of crime,” he said.
La Center’s Interim Administrative Police Chief Bob Richardson, who retired as Battle Ground’s police chief in 2020, agrees that police officers should decide when to pursue suspected criminals.
“I think our community members expect the police to respond, investigate and arrest individuals engaged in criminal activity as long as it’s done in a safe and professional manner. Like any other group of professionals, police officers should be given the authority to make an assessment that balances the crimes involved against the risk to the public, officer, and offender if pursued along with appropriate supervisory oversight,” Richardson said.
Richardson said the city just recently had a case involving a known auto thief.
“Our officers recovered the stolen vehicle and while searching the area, they located the suspect driving away in a second vehicle he had just stolen. When the officers attempted to stop the suspect, who now has stolen two vehicles in our community within a matter of a few hours, he drove away and our officers had to disengage and not pursue,” Richardson said.
Since passage of the police reform bills in 2021, auto thefts across the state have been on the rise. Washington now ranks second in the nation for the rate of car thefts, behind Colorado, according to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. For every 1,000 cars registered in Washington, 15 were stolen in 2022, or roughly one in every 67 vehicles, according to the data. Missouri had almost the same rate.
At a March 30 town hall hosted by Clark County Councilor Michelle Belkot, Sheriff John Horch discussed the pending legislation.
“This bill gives us a lot more leeway,” Horch said, adding that the bill was about public safety and thus shouldn’t be partisan.
Horch encouraged residents to contact their local state legislators to encourage them to pass the bill.
“It’s not a total fix for what they messed up with pursuits during the big push for police reform, but it’s a large step in the right direction,” the sheriff said.
Richardson said La Center police will enforce the laws as passed in Olympia, whether they go far enough or not.
“The state of Washington, and each of our communities in Clark County have professional, well-trained and dedicated law enforcement officers who will follow the pursuit legislation as written. Our communities need to determine how they want to be policed, what crimes they want investigated, and what penalties offenders should endure by communicating with their elected officials and voicing their disapproval at the ballot box,” Richardson said.
Senate Bill 5352 now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk for his signature.