In a late-night debate this week, the Washington state House of Representatives approved a watered-down version of the vehicular pursuit bill on a 57-40 vote with split votes on both sides of the aisle.
“Law enforcement has been very clear since the beginning that the reforms rushed through back in 2021 were unworkable and dangerous,” said Rep. Chris Corry, R-Yakima. “They have continually stressed the urgent need for the Legislature to pass a comprehensive and thoughtful fix, and this session we truly felt we could do that, but this bill falls woefully short. That is why I was a no vote.”
Senate Bill 5352 will increase law enforcement’s ability to pursue suspects by restoring the standard of reasonable suspicion someone has committed a crime for officers to give chase – but only in a handful of limited circumstances for the most serious crimes.
That bar was raised in 2021, requiring officers to have probable cause in most cases to engage in a pursuit as part of sweeping police reforms rushed through by the Democrat majority in response to the 2020 protests and the death of George Floyd.
That change is blamed for a dramatic jump in car thefts and suspects fleeing police and linked to an overall increase in crime in the state. Many police agencies in Washington no longer engage in pursuits because of that law, which has led to tragedy in more than one recent case.
At the start of the 2023 legislative session, a proposal had very strong bipartisan support in both chambers. However, that bill died due to the handful of members of Democratic leadership who opposed it. Instead, we got Senate Bill 5352.
Public safety has been one of the top priorities for House Republicans this session, and though some voted to pass this legislation none, believe it goes far enough.
“While I could not bring myself to vote yes on this bill as many of my colleagues did just because it moved the needle ever so slightly in the right direction or because something is better than nothing, I do understand those votes,” said Corry. “Regardless of how we voted individually on the Republican side of the House, the overall discussion is not over. We will be back fighting for the right fix next session. We will continue working on this during the interim to restore a sense of safety for the residents and businesses in our communities and show our strong support for our law enforcement.”
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