Resources from September 2 Forum on De-Escalation
Thank you to all those who came to our September forum. We hope you came away better informed about developments in de-escalation and the perspectives of those impacted by these laws. If you are looking for additional ways to engage with this important topic, the links provided in our Zoom chat are a great place to start! They are included at the bottom of this email.
You can find recording of the forum here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5VDgWbCkV0
For more by our moderator, Amy Radil, check out: https://www.kuow.org/authors/amy-radil
For a spreadsheet of police reform laws enacted in 2021 and a memorandum from Auburn Chief of Police interpreting ESB 1054 on lethal weapons, sees the file at the bottom of this blog post. These resources were provided by Leslie Cushman to share during the panel, which we forgot to do. Our apologies to Leslie!
Links from the Chat
Monica Alexander is the Executive Director of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission. Their webpage is https://cjtc.wa.gov/.
Leslie Cushman and Sonia Joseph support the Washington Coalition on Police Accountability:
https://washingtoncoalitionforpoliceaccountability.com/
KUOW article highlighting the death of Giovonn Joseph-McDade, Sonia’s son:
https://kuow.org/stories/death-of-young-black-man-in-kent-led-to
Text of House Bill 1310 relating to permissible uses of force by law enforcement:
http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2021-22/Pdf/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/1310-S2.PL.pdf?q=20210902185747
Text of House Bill 1064 relating to law enforcement training:
http://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2019-20/Pdf/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/1064-S.PL.pdf?q=20210902185911
Legislative webpage for Representative Roger Goodman: https://housedemocrats.wa.gov/goodman/
Jan Tokumoto is the Chief Operating Officer for Frontier Behavioral Health. Their website is: https://fbhwa.org/
Governor’s Task Force on the Use of Deadly Force in Community Policing:
https://capaa.wa.gov/task-force-on-the-use-of-deadly-force-in-community-policing/
King 5 report on death of man in Kent after police reform laws were enacted in 2021:
https://www.king5.com/article/news/investigations/hours-after-new-police-reform-law-took-effect-a-kent-man-was-dead-what-happened/281-99685577-0959-4a44-9076-116fc82bce87
Washington statute defining lawful use of force (RCW 9A.16.020):
https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9A.16.020
Independent Investigations Criteria under the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act (LETCSA):
https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=139-12-020
Law establishing requirements for tactics and equipment used by peace officers:
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?billnumber=1054&year=2021
House Bill Report giving background on HB 1054:
https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2021-22/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/House/1054%20HBR%20PS%2021.pdf?q=20210205203801
House Bill Report giving background on HB 1310:
https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2021-22/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/House/1310-S2.E%20HBR%20FBR%2021.pdf?q=20210723145208
Resources for Designated Crisis Responders (DCRs) in their implementation of the Involuntary
Treatment Act (ITA) (RCW 71.05 and RCW 71.34):
https://www.hca.wa.gov/billers-providers-partners/behavioral-health-recovery/designated-crisis-responders-dcr
Washington Recovery Help Line: 1-866-789-1511 (24/7):
https://www.hca.wa.gov/health-care-services-supports/behavioral-health-recovery/mental-health-crisis-lines
Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT): An Invaluable Community Resource:
https://namiswwa.org/crisis-intervention-teams-cit-an-invaluable-community-resource/
Text of House Bill 1477 implementing the national 9-8-8 system to enhance and expand behavioral health crisis response and suicide prevention services:
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1477&Year=2021&Initiative=false
(From an attendee) – House Bill 1477, already signed into law, may touch on the issue referenced by Jan Tokumoto regarding people living with mental illness facing eviction. You can read more about it here:
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1477&Year=2021&Initiative=false
For more about police certification hearings:
https://www.cjtc.wa.gov/certification/certification-hearings
Seattle Times article on bill easing decertification of police:
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/washington-legislature-passes-bill-making-it-easier-to-decertify-police-officers/
Spokesman Review article on the same bill.
https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/feb/27/the-state-senate-passed-a-bill-to-overhaul-the-dec/
Law on state oversight and accountability of peace officers and corrections officers:
https://lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov/biennium/2021-22/Pdf/Bills/Session%20Laws/Senate/5051-S2.SL.pdf
Senate Bill 5051 on officer certification:
https://www.cjtc.wa.gov/certification/certification-information
Attorney General's clarification of HB 1310 and other laws:
https://housedemocrats.wa.gov/tmp/2021/08/Attorney-Client-Privilege-Bill-1310-002.pdf
Fatal Encounters Project - A step toward creating an impartial, comprehensive and searchable national database of people killed during interactions with police:
https://fatalencounters.org/
Next Steps Washington is a broad-based community group dedicated to following up on the implementation of Washington State Initiative 940
https://blog.nextstepswa.org/p/welcome-to-next-steps-washington.html
(From an attendee) - Federal bill on police diversion, currently in the works:
HR 1859, Diversion to Unarmed Personnel Act of 2021 — diverts non-violent 911 calls https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1859
List of Enacted Police Accountability Legislation
Auburn Police Department Memorandum