CHENEY — As students return to campus this fall, new policing guidelines will be put to the test, City Administrator Mark Schuller said at the July 27 City Council Meeting. New police reform enacted in the wake of the George Floyd killings have altered how first responders interact with the populace and how they are able to respond to incident calls.
“There’s a new standard for use of force measure in particular and how they pursue suspects,” said Schuller. “This new standard’s going to make it a little more reactive for our police instead of proactive like we’ve had the luxury of in the past.”
Schuller reiterated the difficulties presented, explaining that police can no longer clear bystanders from a potentially dangerous scene if a crime has not been committed. Once the crime is committed, and someone is injured or property is damaged, the police can then intercede. The department has elected to respond to the incident calls, whether they can act or not, out of an interest for “protecting their co-workers” to “assist and help in any way they can.”
To further complicate the matter, the Attorney General’s Office has not produced guidelines and it is not required to do so until July of 2022. Consequently, jurisdictions will be “flying blind,” and subject to potential “test cases” to solidify best policies and practices as issues mount under the new guidelines.
The two main laws of community concern are derived from House Bill 1310 that engages with use-of-force and House Bill 1054 that constricts traditional police practices regarding tactics. To decrease the use of physical force, officers are now expected to use a variety of od de-escalation techniques, including retreating from the scene if a crime has not been committed or is not about to be committed.
The new force reduction techniques also pertain to suspects who flee a crime scene. While suspects fleeing by foot can still be detained, those departing by car no longer be pursued if the crime is considered “lower level,” such as theft or property damage. In accordance with Senate Bill 5051, officers who violate these newly implemented rules can have their certificates revoked with greater ease.
Despite the ambiguity of the new policies, which can be read in further detail on the Washington State Legislature website, Cheney officials remain committed to providing the community with the highest caliber of safety services possible.
“But, first and foremost, our priority is to protect our citizens and our staff here,” Schuller said. “We’re going to do that to the best of our ability, given these new laws. Rest assured, we’re going to continue to make Cheney one of the safest communities in the region.”
Scott Davis can be reached at [email protected].
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