OLYMPIA (AP) — Washington lawmakers have voted to make it easier to prosecute police who commit negligent or reckless shootings, updating a law that made it uniquely difficult to hold officers criminally liable.
House Bill 3003 was passed by the House Wednesday and the Senate on Thursday after law enforcement groups and backers of an initiative tied to the deadly force law reached a compromise deal this week, The News Tribune reported. Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday signed the measure, which forces prosecutors to prove the officers acted with malice — a hurdle no other state has.
The new law deletes the “malice” requirement and defines “good faith” as whether a reasonable officer would have used deadly force in the same circumstances. It also orders new de-escalation and mental health training for officers, along with new requirements to provide first aid for injured people.
Activists outraged over questionable police shootings in Washington and across the country had gathered enough signatures to force a vote on the measure on the November ballot, but instead, they worked with police organizations on the compromise version lawmakers approved as the legislative session drew to a close Thursday.
