Legislation to ease restrictions on police vehicle pursuit dies in Washington Senate

A bill that would have eased some restrictions imposed last years on police vehicle pursuits did not receive a final vote on the last day of the legislative session, despite three attempts by Republicans to bring it to the Senate floor.

The House passed Senate Bill 5919 on March 4. The Senate needed to concur with amendments made by the House in order for the legislation to have advanced to Gov. Jay Inslee’s desk.

Sen. Andy Billig, D-Spokane, one of several Democrats who supported the legislation when it was previously in the Senate, explained why Democrats did not take up the bill.

“We did not have the votes to bring it to the floor,” he said during a just-before-midnight press conference on Thursday following the end of Senate floor debate. “We did not have that level of support.”

On Feb. 9, the Senate voted 31-18 to pass a version of Engrossed Senate Bill 5919, so called to indicate the legislation had one or more amendments incorporated into it.

He put the failure to pass SB 5919 in context, noting the legislature did pass bills this session tweaking last year’s police reform laws, including House Bill 1719 and House Bill 1735, both of which Inslee signed on March 4.

HB 1719 clarified that police officers are still allowed to use non-lethal weapons such as bean bags and rubber bullets after legislation passed last year causing uncertainty as to whether police could still use such ammunition.

HB 1735 makes clear the legislature never intended to stop police from using force in community caretaking situations. Per the law, officers can use force to execute search warrants and to take minors into protective custody. Reasonable care and appropriate de-escalation tactics must still be exercised before using force.

Billig pointed to other legislation that also passed this year’s session, including a bill that bans the manufacture, sale, or distribution of gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, as well as a bill designed to crack down on catalytic converter thefts by adding new requirements for scrap metal dealers who purchase catalytic converters and the creation of a catalytic converter theft workgroup at Washington State University.

“So, I think the totality of what we accomplished in the public safety field is a big step forward,” he said.

Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, took a more circumspect view of legislation to tweak police reform laws from last year.

“Why is it that certain law enforcement agencies were able to do their job under the changes that were passed and others were not?” she asked. “And we really need to dig deep into that question and understand where the answers lie.”

Dhingra, who did not vote for SB 5919 during its first run through the Senate, noted that deaths at the hands of law enforcement officers are down, which she called progress, before moving on to address the general rise in crime.

“We did not see a rise in crime all across,” she said. “What we saw was a rise in domestic violence. We saw a rise in homicides that were related to domestic violence.”

Details matter, she said, when it comes to law enforcement policy.

“I have seen law enforcement do their job right,” Dhingra said. “I’ve seen it over and over again. And we simply have to make sure that those good officers are showing up, doing their job in a way we know it can be done.”

Looking to next year’s legislative session, she said, “So, I’m sure there’ll be bills. It really behooves us to dig deep into it and really understand the issues instead of coming and reacting from fear.”