Grab a cup of coffee and catch up on what you may have missed from [un]Divided this week.
Pursuing a pursuit fix
This week, a bill that would give power back to police officers to pursue suspects moved out of the House Community Safety, Justice, & Reentry Committee in Olympia – and not a moment too soon. Had a solution to the state’s failed pursuit policy not passed out of committee by Friday, efforts would have died for the session.
While the bill passed out of committee is a watered-down version of the original bipartisan fix, it would lower the standard for police to pursue suspects in the following scenarios:
Provides that an officer may not engage in a vehicular pursuit unless there is reasonable suspicion that a person in the vehicle has committed or is committing one of the following crimes, rather than any criminal offense: (1) a violent offense; (2) a sex offense; (3) a Vehicular Assault offense; (4) an Assault in the first, second, third, or fourth degree offense involving domestic violence; (5) an escape; or (6) a Driving Under the Influence offense.
The bill, which could still undergo changes in the coming weeks, would keep in place the following standards for pursuits:
- Provides that an officer may not engage in a vehicular pursuit unless the person being pursued poses a serious risk of harm to others.
- Restores the provision in current law that limits a vehicular pursuit to situations where the pursuit is necessary for the purpose of identifying or apprehending the person being pursued.
- Provides that, for a vehicular pursuit in a jurisdiction with 10 or more commissioned officers, the pursuing officer must notify a supervising officer immediately upon initiating the pursuit and there must be supervisory oversight of the pursuit, including the supervising officer's compliance with specific requirements related to the pursuit where applicable.
- Provides that, for a vehicular pursuit in a jurisdiction with fewer than 10 commissioned officers, the pursuing officer must request the on-call supervisor be notified if a supervisor is not on duty.
Critically, the bill does not allow officers to pursue stolen vehicles. Given that some jurisdictions, like Seattle, are experiencing a 15-year high rate of motor vehicle theft, that is disappointing. But in a state with one-party rule, you take what you can get.
If passed and signed into law, the bill would take effect immediately. It was also passed with a sunset clause, meaning the changes would expire in two years. That could land us back in the same position we're in now unless efforts are made to pass a new policy before then. The sunset clause is meant to go hand-in-hand with another bill passed out of the committee, which would create a 19-person panel to study best practices on pursuits.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering whether your calls and emails to lawmakers made a difference in getting something out of committee, just read what Rep. Tarra Simmons (D-Bremerton) had to say when she voted in favor of it:
"I am voting for this today, and it's probably one of the hardest votes I've taken as a lawmaker so far ... I represent a district and even though I might personally not want to vote for his policy, my community wants me to."
What didn’t make it past Friday’s cutoff?
Two bipartisan bills to respond to community anger over the placement of sexually violent offenders in their communities did not move past Friday’s deadline.
House Bill 1813 would have placed a moratorium on moving sex offenders off McNeil Island into less-secure residential facilities across Washington state.
Senate Bill 5544 would have improved community notification before placement of offenders occurs.
Now, to be fair, the bills were introduced relatively late in the session as outrage grew over placements of sex offenders in Tenino and Enumclaw. Still, if Democrats wanted to move the bills, they would have. In fact, in Democrats wanted to revive the bills, there are ways.
Regardless of whether lawmakers ever take action to change the policy that allows for these transfers, the good news is that citizens are now wise to what’s going on. If the state thinks it can continue to move these offenders into communities quietly, it is sadly mistaken.
Balloon down!
Perhaps my favorite story of the week is that of an Illinois hobby club that thinks its $12 balloon may have been one of the “unknown” objects shot down by the U.S. government.
As detailed by Aviation Week, the Northern Illinois Bottlecap Balloon Brigade says its hobby balloon went missing around the same time and place that an Air Force fighter jet launched a heat-seeking missile to take down an unknown aerial object near Alaska.
"The club’s silver-coated, party-style, “pico balloon” reported its last position on Feb. 10 at 38,910 ft. off the west coast of Alaska, and a popular forecasting tool—the HYSPLIT model provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)—projected the cylindrically shaped object would be floating high over the central part of the Yukon Territory on Feb. 11. That is the same day a Lockheed Martin F-22 shot down an unidentified object of a similar description and altitude in the same general area."
LOL.
To make matters worse, the type of missile used in the operation cost around $400,000.
This was a bit of a damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation for President Biden. He was criticized for not acting quickly enough to shoot own the actual Chinese spy balloon, so perhaps the administration went a little trigger happy.
I’m just upset it wasn’t aliens.
Housekeeping
Please start messaging me with your nominations for our 2023 Charity of the Year. To learn about last year’s charity, Brigadoon Service Dogs, watch here.
What are we looking for in a Charity of the Year?
- An organization working to bridge divides in our community by fostering meaningful opportunities to connect with fellow human beings or by providing access to critical resources or services for those in need.
- Preferably a smaller organization that could benefit from additional exposure.
On another note, I was thrilled this week to have breakfast with Dr. Jordan B. Peterson while his tour stopped in Seattle (and yes, his all-beef diet is no joke. He ordered a steak and only a steak). Not only is Peterson a critical voice in America’s culture wars, but he is also an important inspiration for the truth-telling journey I embarked on 16 months ago. What a cool experience.
Have a great week and thank you for your commitment to giving common sense a comeback!
