Local law enforcement reacts to bills involving police reform laws - KEPR 19
TRI-CITIES, Wash. — House Bills 1719 and 1735 have both received the stamp of approval from Governor Inslee and are in effect as of March 4, 2022. These bills put some of the power back in the officers' hands following police reform laws from the past two years.
"This bill addresses an inadvertent and unwanted consequence of the 2021 police reform legislation. It's essential that law enforcement have the non-lethal options at their disposal," said Governor Inslee.
House Bill 1719 restores the ability for officers to use non-lethal equipment to de-escalate dangerous situations.
"Having those less-lethal platforms and being able to use them again gives us a huge option that we can use from a distance that keeps our officers safe and really keeps the people that we're dealing with safe as well," said Lieutenant Jason Kiel with Kennewick P.D.
The bill clarifies that less-lethal weapons, like rubber or bean bag rounds, are not restricted. This now allows them to make their way back to the officers.
"We still have to respect each situation is different and we have to use distance and time and cover and be able to use those and de-escalate. But also we get to use these tools, like the projectile launcher, to end a situation as peacefully as we can," said Sergeant Rigo Pruneda with Pasco P.D.
"It's a great tool that allows us to be able to use less-lethal options from a distance," said Lt. Kiel.
Which ties hand-in-hand with some of the de-escalation tactics in House Bill 1735.
Under this bill, officers can use physical force after trying de-escalation tactics. These tactics are nothing new to our local officers.
"It's something that we've always attempted to do, is to de-escalate situations and for as long as I can remember, use the least amount of force necessary to accomplish what we're trying to accomplish," said Lt. Kiel.
Reasons officers can use reasonable force are now expanded to some non-criminal incidents like taking someone for treatment or evaluation or taking a minor into protective custody.
"Police work is very dynamic. It can't be put into a box. There are a lot of things that happen and there's a lot of things that we are involved in to serve the community," explained Lt. Kiel.
Police say these two bills will help keep our community safe.
"We're excited to be able to have these laws put into place. They help us tremendously and it will help with community safety as well," stated Sgt. Pruneda.
With the bills in effect as of March 4th, Kennewick P.D. said they have their non-lethal weapons back in their police cars ready to use.
Pasco police said they're currently looking at how to re-implement these tools and train their officers.
source: https://keprtv.com/news/local/local-law-enforcement-reacts-to-bills-involving-police-reform-laws
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