By Juan Peralez / Herald Forum
Changing the culture of policing in America was proposed by former City of Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper in his book,” To Protect and Serve: How To Fix America’s Police ” published in 2016. A number of bills in the state Legislature look to achieve that change.
House Bill 2027, for example, will continue recent advances made by state lawmakers.
In 2021, our state Legislature put our state in the lead toward a progressive and positive direction especially for Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities who unfortunately are targeted by some members and policies of law enforcement. We had legislation passed that now has civilians as part of the Criminal Justice Training Commission Board, long overdue. Changes to certification and decertification of police officers, prevent a fired officer in one agency in our state from being rehired at another agency in the state. Legislation on police use of deadly force, set much needed limits. HB 1267 created the State Office of Independent Investigations, relieving local police from investigations when an officer kills or seriously injures a civilian. This was a recommendation in Stamper’s book, though he proposed a regional office instead of a state office.
House Bill 2027 has to do with training, certifications,background checks and professionalism standards of all persons using peace officer authority such as sheriffs, police chiefs, town marshals, reserve officers and volunteers. It brings reserve officers and volunteers into the same law enforcement system that all peace officers must abide by and assures the highest level of professionalism of law enforcement across the state.
The bill provides enhanced background checks, areas of misconduct that can result in decertification of a peace officer and most importantly it enhances the checks of affiliations or support of white supremacy organizations like those that supported former president Donald Trump’s failed coup.
The bill will no longer allow uncertified volunteers to take over a city armed with assault-style rifles as was seen in the city of Snohomish on May 31, 2020. We must also remember that these individuals were also displaying Confederate flags on the back of their trucks.
On the Senate side, Sen. John Lovick, D-Mill Creek, is sponsoring the companion Senate Bill 5905. Lovick has publicly stated that the culture of policing in America needs to change and I personally strongly support his statement. We must acknowledge that he also served as our Snohomish County sheriff from 2008 to 2013 and was a Washington State Patrol trooper, and thus has vast experience in law enforcement culture.
To prevent another situation like we saw in Snohomish, to ensure a higher level of training and professionalism for peace officers and for the safety of all residents, please reach out to your respective legislators and request that they support HB 2027.
Juan Peralez is president of Unidos, Snohomish County.
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