Seattle police unable to engage in pursuits unless they undergo specific training
According to a SPD source, as of Wednesday, Seattle Police Department (SPD), officers are not allowed to engage in a chase unless they have been trained in the Pursuit Intervention Technique or Emergency Vehicle Operator Course (EVOC).
According to a SPD source, any pursuit must also comply with all the current requirements listed in their policy.
Below is the SPD statement provided to KOMO News.
Seattle Police Department has been working to understand and comply with new legislative restrictions since the passage of Washington State Senate Bill 5352, while also complying. SPD has been in consultation with other agencies and the Criminal Justice Training Commission as well as the City Attorney’s Office, to ensure SPD’s pursuit policies are consistent with the law and that SPD officers receive the training and equipment they need to pursue under the new standard.
|
This news comes just after Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has rolled back certain requirements that police must follow people in cars. This is a partial reverse of the controversial pursuit policy implemented in Washington at the height of the racial justice protests after George Floyd’s death.
According to the new law, police do not need probable cause in order to begin a pursuit. To initiate a pursuit, police need only have a reasonable suspicion that the person in a vehicle is or has committed a violent crime or sexual offense, domestic violence, eluded, or may be under the influence of alcohol. Pursuing officers are required to have taken an emergency vehicle operator training course within the past two years, and must be certified in one or more pursuit intervention options.
SPD would not say how many officers do not have the necessary training. It is also unclear at this time how long it will be before everyone has been trained.
Seattle Police Officers Guild president Mike Solan stated, “We cannot pursue this right now.” “SWAT and K9 officers have this specific training. About 35 people are involved. But if we were required to do it every two years for the entire department, then your entire department would have emergency vehicle operation training. We don’t currently have that.”
Solan said, “I am astonished that we didn’t see this coming and now, we are scrambling.”
It varies as to how the new law may affect other agencies in the state.
Washington State Fraternal Order of Police president Marco Monteblanco stated that “it really depends from agency to agency” because many agencies already have policies in place that cover most of the provisions of the new law. “There may be some minor tweaks that are needed, but the majority of the policies already cover it,” Monteblanco added.
Monteblanco continued to say that while the new law does not include the ability to pursue property crimes or other types of crimes, it still makes significant changes for law enforcement officers to help keep the community safe.
The Criminal Justice Training Commission sent KOMO a statement regarding modifications to current training.
We are working to bring the WSCJTC Basic Training Division’s Emergency Vehicle Operations course into compliance with recent changes in the law. The updated training curriculum will be implemented very soon.
The WSCJTC’s EVOC program is 40 hours long and includes academic presentations, vehicle training, vehicle backing, and vehicle pursuits. The WSCJTC 40-hour EVOC program is woven with core components such as de-escalation and critical decision making.
The CJTC spokesperson said that the training is not PIT or legal authority for pursuits as it is agency specific training.
In the past, the police in New York were authorized to detain someone for a short time if they had a reasonable suspicion – a commonsense idea based on facts – that someone was involved in a criminal act.
Some people who want greater accountability from the police argued that fewer high-speed pursuits make communities safer and result in fewer innocent victims being injured or fatally killed.
