(Thanks to Alyssa Moomaw of Red Lion staff for providing this update weekly)

 

Click HERE to watch as Jose' sings the National Anthem at a recent Seattle Mariners game.

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Captain Brian Chance, Wenatchee Police Department, Operations Bureau (Patrol) Commander.  Graduate of Central Washington University (2002).  Washington Initiative Measure No. 940 passed in Nov. 2018. It addresses police use of deadly force.

This measure requires law enforcement to receive training in violence de-escalation, mental-health, and first-aid, and to provide first-aid.  It would change standards for use of deadly force, adding a "good faith" standard and independent investigation.

A Seattle Times article (11/06/2018)  states "Passage of the measure means that prosecutors will no longer have to prove law-enforcement officers acted with “evil intent” — or so-called “malice” — when considering whether to file criminal charges such as manslaughter. Washington is the only state with such restrictive language.  The measure passed with 60 percent of the vote statewide. In King County, support exceeded 70 percent."

From the Tacoma News Tribune (just before election day last November):  "In recent years, Washington routinely has ranked among the states with the most officer-involved shooting deaths, according to data compiled by the Washington Post. It is currently 12th overall this year with 19 deaths, down from 5th overall last year with 38, and 7th overall in 2016 with 26, the data shows.  Yet officers in the state rarely face criminal charges for their actions."

The Tacoma News-Tribune reported that, of the 213 people killed by police in Washington between 2005 and 2014, only one cop was criminally charged -- and he was acquitted by a jury.“Washington is the only state in the U.S. with a “malice clause”,” the News-Tribune editorial board wrote in a recent column about I-940. “Because of it, no criminal action can follow an officer involved in a fatal shooting unless substantial proof of 'evil intent' is found.”   I-940 seeks to change just that. Passage of the measure would drop the “malice” language and adopt what the state voter guide says would be a “good faith” standard. Voter guides included pro and con language, such as these clauses.

Passage of I-940 would also, the state says, "require an independent investigation any time an officer's use of deadly force results in death or substantial or great bodily harm,” and “establish that law enforcement officers have a paramount duty to preserve the life of persons they come into contact with, including providing or facilitating first aid as early as possible.”  “Washington’s first-responders fundamentally believe that portions of I-940 are bad public policy, costly to implement, fail to provide funding or resources to improve training, will erode public safety, and will not reduce violent interactions between members of the public and law enforcement,” the coalition said in a statement. “I-940 pits the public against law enforcement. I-940 divides rather than unites.”

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