WASHINGTON COALITION FOR POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY

January 17, 2023

Dear Senate Sponsors of SB 5352 and House Sponsors of HB 1363i:

We are not able to support SB 5352 and HB 1363. This letter lays out why we must oppose the
bills and why we are asking your colleagues to oppose as well. We believe current law is
effective at meeting the overarching goal of saving lives.
RCW 10.116.060 was passed in the 2021 session as part of HB 1054. That bill addressed a
number of law enforcement tactics that were dangerous and led to unintended injuries and
deaths. At the time the bill passed in 2021, pursuits were responsible for ten to twenty percent
of fatalities from police activities each year, and half of those deaths were uninvolved
bystanders or passengers.
There has been a significant reduction in fatalities from vehicular pursuits since this law went
into effect. Since July 25, 2021, there have been three deaths of bystanders and passengers,
compared to twelve deaths for the same time period prior.
We sincerely believe that if this law is rolled back, there will be a sharp increase of fatalities of
bystanders and passengers. That is a high cost, is not necessary, and the policy change cannot
be explained or justified.
The foundation of RCW 10.116.040 is to recognize the duty to protect human life in the exercise
of law enforcement decision making and action. Our state laws establish preserving life as a
fundamental duty of law enforcement. That is why state law contains such explicit conditions
for the use of force, and places an emphasis, in fact a legal duty, to deescalate whenever
possible. Vehicular pursuits are the exact opposite of de-escalation and must be reserved for
the most serious conduct.
We understand that property crime is a problem and aggravating, and we understand that
disrespecting and not complying with law enforcement orders is also aggravating. However,
that aggravation does not alter the reality that vehicular pursuits are exceedingly dangerous. Is
retrieving a stolen vehicle worth the loss of life of a bystander?
Current law authorizes a vehicular pursuit for violent offenses (RCW 9.94A.030 (58)), sexual
offenses (RCW 9.94A.030 (47)), escapes (chapter 9A.76 RCW), and DUIs. Those are the right
categories for this dangerous tactic. The state-wide pursuit policy is meant to keep
Washingtonians safe, and focuses on the gravity of the alleged conduct in relation to risk to the
public.
The standard you propose in SB 5352 and HB 1363 is to allow for vehicular pursuits for any
criminal offense. Where is the data that demonstrates that this will be effective and what is the
goal? Any criminal offense means any prohibited act, which is any felony, any gross
misdemeanor, and any misdemeanor. These bills would allow pursuits for all nature of
suspected criminal conduct, including graffiti, trespassing, mischief, shoplifting, and things like
false advertising, and any other felony, gross misdemeanor, or misdemeanor. With all due
respect, SB 5352 and HB 1363 are too broad, would institute a poor practice, and send a clear
message that human life is not important at all.
We realize the difference in philosophy over the 2021 law is significant. However, it has become
a scapegoat and is blamed for virtually everything. In actuality, current law restricting vehicular
pursuits is not the cause of retail theft, gun violence, and it didn’t cause the uptick in auto theft.
Data show however that the law is working as intended and not giving chase for low-level
crimes does keep us safer.

Our position is the current law is working and should stay in place. At the same time, we are
not opposed to taking a look at vehicular pursuits. For transparency, we are opposed to any
proposal that is not based on best practices and grounded in data. A solution we could
support is a workgroup on vehicular pursuits. The aforementioned HB 1054 included a
workgroup on canines, led by the Criminal Justice Training Commission. The canine workgroup
was successful in bringing diverse perspectives to the table and the process and outcome was
supported and lauded by law enforcement and community participants.
Sincerely,

Leslie Cushman on behalf of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability

cc:
Chair Dhingra
Vice Chair Trudeau
Chair Goodman
Vice Chair Simmons

i
Senators Lovick, MacEwen, Cleveland, Conway, Gildon, Holy, Hunt, Mullett, Rolfes, Salomon, Short, Torres, Van de
Wege, Warnick, Wilson C, Wilson L, and Representatives Rule, Robertson, Shavers, Mosbrucker, Reeves, Leavitt,
Paul, Griffey, Timmons, Bronoske, Klicker, Walen, Hackney, Coutrue, Maycumber, Corry, Cortes, McClintock, Davis.