Snoqualmie Police Chief Perry Phipps gave a report to the Snoqualmie City Council on July 27 about how new state police reform laws would change the department.
The dozen new laws were signed by Gov. Jay Inslee in May and address a host of issues surrounding police reform and accountability. Inslee called the bills the most comprehensive and effective police reform efforts in the country.
However, many law enforcement officers have been critical of the new laws. Steven Strachan, the executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, said he was concerned they would raise crime.
“[These laws] really impacted what law enforcement looks like and how we’ll be acting in the future,” Phipps said. “Overall, it’s not as bad as if you’ve been watching a lot of stuff in our local media.”
HB 1310: Use of force
House Bill 1310 redefines probable cause and reasonable suspicion, and restricts the type of force officers can apply. Officers are now required to exhaust all deescalation tactics and only use force when necessary.
Reasonable suspicion and probable cause refer to the amount of information an officer has about a situation, and determines if they know enough to make an arrest or detain a suspect. When an officer has reasonable suspicion, it means they suspect that a crime may have occurred. When an officer has probable cause, it means they have reasonable grounds to make an arrest.
“If someone steals something out of Bartells and is running out with a handful of items, that gives us suspicion that maybe a crime has occurred,” Phipps said. “The level for an arrest is, if a person runs out of Bartells and an employee is following that person, under the same set of circumstances, and [the employee] says ‘that person just stole from this store’ that would raise it to the level of probable cause.”
Under this bill officers are restricted from applying physical force to suspects unless they have probable cause.
“We cannot use any type of force to restrict, to detain them, to arrest them based upon reasonable suspicion,” Phipps said. “What’s that do to us? Well we just have to be better at obtaining information.”
Phipps said because of this new law, many police chiefs and department heads across the state are refusing to respond to calls that are not criminal in nature. This means these officers would not respond to things like homelessness or mental health problems, where the officer cannot use force.
However, Phipps said the Snoqualmie Police will still respond to all calls, regardless of whether they contain a criminal element.
“I believe we still have responsibility. The key is we do not use force to detain a person unless we have probable cause for an arrest,” he said. “We still respond to all calls for service at this time, we may change tactics, but we will continue to be no call to small.”
HB 1054: Police tactics and equipment
House Bill 1054 deals with tactics police can use when detaining or arresting a suspect. The law bans chokeholds, neck restraints and no-knock warrants, all of which Phipps said were already banned by Snoqualmie’s policy.
Officers are also prohibited from pursuing a vehicle unless the officer has probable cause that a violent crime or sex offense has occurred. Officers can also pursue if the driver poses an imminent threat to the safety of others. Officers are also allowed to pursue vehicles if they have reasonable suspicion a person in the vehicle is driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The law prohibits officers from firing at a moving vehicle, which was already a policy for Snoqualmie police. Phipps said an exception is made if the vehicle is being used as a weapon.
The bill also restricts the use of tear gas, except under specific circumstances, and requires police departments to return military equipment. The Snoqualmie Police will be required to return six military grade, 7.62 mm rifles.
However, the department is not required to return its BAE Caiman tactical vehicle — a mine-resistant and armored ambush vehicle heavily used in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The Valley Record previously reported that the vehicle has only been used a handful of times for SWAT and rescue missions since its purchase in 2014. Phipps said the department is not required to return the armored vehicle because it is not armed with weapons.
“It is military equipment, but under the definition to have to return it, it has to be armed,” Phipps said. “Our vehicle is not armed. It is a truly non-offensive vehicle.”
This law also requires officers in uniform to be identifiable at all times. Phipps said the Snoqualmie Police already wear both a bandage and name tag.
SB 5476: The “Blake Decision”
This law was created following a state supreme court case where the court ruled the state’s drug crime law was unconstitutional, and changed the criteria for charging a suspect in possession of drugs.
The new law changes the possession of narcotics from a felony to a misdemeanor crime. Police are now required to refer anyone found in possession of narcotics to treatment. Referral must happen twice before officers can book the resident in jail.
Items used to take narcotics, such as pipes or syringes, are now decriminalized. However, the sale or intent to sell narcotics remains a felony in most situations.
Phipps and the city council agreed during the council meeting not to discuss this law in open session.
Other bills
HB 5051: This law deals with decertifying officers. The state has a process to certify officers through the Criminal Justice Training Commission, also known as the Police Training Academy. This new law gives the academy the authority to investigate complaints of improper conduct and decertify officers it finds problematic.
HB 1267: HB 1267 establishes the Office of Independent Investigations within the governor’s office. The office will be the lead investigation unit in police incidents. This law also requires officers to immediately notify the office of any incident.
SB 5066: Requires officers who witness police misconduct or excessive force to intervene and report the incident to a supervisor and the Criminal Justice Training Commission. The law prevents law enforcement agencies from punishing officers who intervene in good faith. Phipps said the Snoqualmie Police already had a requirement to intervene in its policy.
HB 1223: Requires any interrogation of an adult suspected of committing a felony to be electronically recorded. Any interrogation of a minor, suspected of any crime, must also be recorded. Phipps said this may mean Snoqualmie Police will need to introduce body cameras for their officers in the future.
