As of May 3, no member of the Seattle Police Department (SPD) may participate in the prosecution of criminal suspects unless they have completed an Ambulance Operator Course (EVOC) or Intervention Technique training (PIT) while on the police force. , KOMO News reported on May 4, citing sources within the police.
Any vehicular pursuit must also meet all current requirements listed in the department’s policy, according to an SPD source.
Police provided a statement to KOMO News saying that with the passage of Washington State Senate Bill 5352, the Seattle Police Department is complying with the new legal restrictions by working to better understand them.
SPD is consulting with other agencies, the Criminal Justice Study Board, and the City Attorney’s Office to ensure that SPD’s harassment policy is in line with all laws and that SPD employees have the training and tools they need to pursue legal actions according to the new standards.
The news comes just as Washington Gov. Jay Inslee dropped some police requirements for stalking people in vehicles, part of a change to a controversial harassment policy first adopted in the state at the height of protests over racial injustice after the murder of George Floyd.
Under a new state law, police no longer need enough evidence to prosecute. Instead, a reasonable suspicion that the person in the vehicle has committed or is committing a violent or sexual crime, domestic violence, hit-and-run, or possible drunk driving is enough to initiate a pursuit.
However, pursuing police officers must also have completed an ambulance driver training course within the past two years and be certified in at least one anti-harassment intervention option.
The Seattle Police Department did not tell reporters how many officers lack the necessary training and it is unclear how long it will take to train everyone.
“Now we can’t chasesaid Seattle Police Union President Mike Solan. — SWAT and K9 officers, about 35 people, have this special training, but if you need to meet this requirement every couple of years, your entire department needs to be trained on emergency vehicles, we currently don’t have this.
Historically, state police have been allowed to use force to briefly detain someone if they have a reasonable suspicion, based on specific facts, that someone may be involved in a crime.
Those who pushed for greater police accountability argued that reducing high-speed chases made communities safer and fewer innocent bystanders were injured or killed.
According to the latest comprehensive Bureau of Justice Statistics report on the subject, accidents during police activities in the United States between 1996 and 2015 killed more than 7,000 people nationwide, or an average of 355 people a year.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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