A pair of bills meant to clear up confusion around police accountability laws in Washington state moved another step closer to a floor vote in the House Thursday afternoon.
House Bill 1719 clarifies that police can still use certain less-than-lethal weapons. House Bill 1735 clarifies that police can still use force to transport people to treatment when those people are suffering a mental health crisis.
Both passed unanimously out of the House Public Safety Committee with a do-pass recommendation.
The legislation comes in response to laws passed by the legislature last year and signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee that law enforcement leaders say make it difficult for police to do their jobs.
HB 1719 specifically addresses what was a prohibition on firearms over .50 caliber. Legislation last year, House Bill 1054, inadvertently banned the use of less-lethal munitions launchers and beanbag rounds for shotguns.
“This bill will clarify the intent on the prohibition of .50 caliber weapons so that it only applies to rifles and not shotguns or less-lethal ammunition launchers, which is what we originally intended,” said Rep. Jesse Johnson, D-Federal Way, who sponsored both the initial legislation and the bill to correct that mistake.
He went on to say, “We heard from several law enforcement agencies that unfortunately had to put these less-lethal ammunitions back on the shelves. And we do not want that.”
The other piece of new legislation, HB 1735, is meant to tweak last year’s House Bill 1310 that limits the situations in which police officers can use physical force.
According to HB 1310, police are allowed to use physical force when there is probable cause to make an arrest for a crime, as well as to prevent someone from escaping after they’ve been arrested or jailed.
Furthermore, officers can use physical force to protect against “an imminent threat of bodily injury,” either to the officer, the person the officer is responding to, or someone else.
Some law enforcement professionals have interpreted HB 1310 to say they can’t physically restrain someone who is experiencing a mental health episode. Others have said the law makes it pointless for officers to respond at all to mental health calls.
“Because of the actions of this committee and the legislature, this last year we have had nearly intolerable working conditions that the bill did not, as originally passed, contemplate,” explained Rep. Dan Griffey, R-Allyn, a fire service lieutenant and emergency medical technician with the Central Mason Fire Department in Shelton. “We do use force at times to save people’s lives.”
HB 1735 gives police officers the authority to use physical force, to the extent necessary, to take an individual into custody or provide assistance under the Involuntary Treatment Act and other behavior health statutes, take a minor into protective custody, or execute or enforce a court order.
It clarifies the police officers are not prohibited from performing lifesaving measures and community caretaking functions such as welfare checks or assisting first responders and medical professionals.
“This bill will provide the much-needed clarity for law enforcement to assist in behavioral health, mental health situations that require involuntary commitment, child welfare, and community caretaking,” said Johnson, who sponsored both HB 1735 and HB 1310.
More changes are expected to police reforms bills passed last year during the 2022 60-day legislative session that convened on Jan. 10.
