By Juan Peralez / Herald Forum
The Washington Coalition for Police Accountability and its allies will be promoting and supporting two crucial bills in the upcoming legislative session in Olympia. Unidos of Snohomis County is an ally and strongly supports the bills.
House Bill 1513 known as the traffic safety bill will save lives by reducing traffic stops. The bill proposes that police should stop pulling over drivers for expired license tabs, burnt-out tail lights or cracked windshields and concentrate on speeding, negligent driving and impaired driving that are most responsible for traffic deaths. Driving with expired tabs, broken windshields or a burnt tail light has never been responsible for traffic deaths.
In 2022, 1,176 people died in the hands of police. Traffic stops accounted for 98 people dying in police hands. The bill will also allow police to concentrate on the deadly traffic violations mentioned above. It will also help in building much needed trust in law enforcement. We must acknowledge that mostly poor people get pulled over for expired tabs or minor car repairs and too often they end up being killed during police stops. In April of 2015, in North Charleston, S.C., officer Michael T. Slager fired eight times and shot Walter L. Scott while running away from the officer after a traffic stop for a broken tail light. Legal experts agree that these shootings are unwarranted.
House Bill 1445 is the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Limits and Reform Bill. It clarifies existing authority and authorizes the Attorney General’s Office to investigate and if necessary bring suit against law enforcement and local corrections agencies to compel needed reforms where there are violations of constitutional and civil rights, in order to promote effective and constitutional policing, detention and incarceration practices across the state. It will increase transparency, trust in law enforcement, and improve accountability in police and corrections agencies.
The bill will also address the mocking culture as displayed in two videos currently released by the Seattle Police Department after the killing of 19-year-old Damarius Butts and the minimizing of the life of Jaahnavi Kendula by two Seattle police leaders. An investigation by the Attorney General’s Office could help understand what led to this behavior and how to stop it.
Changing the culture of policing in America is way overdue. These two bills will help in changing the culture of policing that benefits law enforcement and communities while helping build much needed trust in law enforcement and corrections agencies.
Please support this legislation by writing to or calling your respective legislators.
Juan Peralez is president of Unidos of Snohomish County.
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