I-940 ballot title

Initiative Measure No. 940 concerns law enforcement.

This measure would require law enforcement to receive violence de-escalation, mental-health, and first-aid training, and provide first-aid; and change standards for use of deadly force, adding a “good faith” standard and independent investigation.

Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes or no?

Yes: Police need more training, better standard — now

By Monika Williams

For The Herald

A year ago on Father’s Day I got a call that no one ever expects to get: My sister, Charleena, was gone. She had been killed in an encounter with law enforcement.

That call was the beginning of grief that no family should ever have to face, but it was also the beginning of more than a year of action to try and prevent other families from going through the same experience.

Today, I’m asking you to join me and my family in voting yes on Initiative 940 to provide all officers in Washington with de-escalation and mental health crisis training and help save lives.

On June 18, 2017, Seattle police responded to a call placed by Charleena Lyles, who called asking for help after she believed someone attempted to break into her apartment. Charleena had been struggling with mental health challenges, as officers knew because they had responded to her apartment and worked with her before. But on June 18, the encounter ended in tragedy.

Charleena needed help, and with better de-escalation tactics maybe her life could have been saved and she could have gotten the help she needed.

Unfortunately, Charleena was just one of the possibly preventable tragedies last year. In 2017, more people in Washington died in encounters with police than in 45 other states, and almost a third of them were experiencing a mental health crisis. Clearly the current training isn’t enough.

Initiative 940 would help. Right now, officers are only provided with a required eight hours of “crisis intervention training” when they go through training. Some additional training is offered, but it’s optional, and you usually only have access to additional training if you work in a major jurisdiction that can afford it.

We can — and should — do better. Initiative 940 will provide every officer in Washington state with expanded de-escalation, first aid and mental health crisis training as well as provide regular refresher courses, so every officer can have modern training to handle difficult situations with people experiencing a crisis.

This training will support law enforcement and help them do their jobs better, which is why many in the law enforcement community support Initiative 940, including current and former sheriffs, deputies, police chiefs, and officers, as well as organizations such as the Law Enforcement Action Partnership and the Black Law Enforcement Association of Washington.

The goal of I-940 is to prevent avoidable tragedies and loss of life, whenever possible. But when a tragedy does occur, it’s important that everyone involved can be guaranteed a fair and independent process. Even if the outcome remains the same, I-940 would require an independent investigation, so families, communities and law enforcement can trust that there was an impartial process.

Finally, I-940 would update our outdated and unique-in-the-nation “evil intent” standard around use of force with fair standards used in 27 other states that simply ask if the officer feared for his or her life, and if another reasonable officer would have acted the same. Don’t believe divisive scare tactics that claim that a standard used in more than half the country will lead to frequent prosecutions. It doesn’t happen there, and it won’t happen here. Rather, it will simply make a fair process possible, and help improve relationships between officers and the communities they serve.

Unfortunately, The Herald’s editorial board got it wrong last week when they wrote that they supported the goals of Initiative 940 but encouraged voters to vote no and roll the dice on the Legislature passing the policy themselves. As reported by The Seattle Times, more than 200 people died during encounters with law enforcement from 2005-15, and for 10 years the Legislature didn’t pass a bill to improve police training and help save lives.

If Initiative 940 isn’t passed this November, there is no guarantee and no pressure for lawmakers in Olympia to do the right thing and finally enact this change either. We can’t wait for our state Legislature to do what we, the people, know is right.

What this editorial board missed is that our ballots don’t provide any room for nuance. There’s only two choices on it: to improve training and save lives with Initiative 940, or to maintain the status quo.

I hope you’ll join me in voting yes on Initiative 940.

Monika Williams is the sister of Charleena Lyles, a Seattle mother who was fatally shot by Seattle Police after calling 911 to report an attempted burglary. A police review board found the shooting was reasonable and within department policy.

No: Law enforcement supports the goals, not the initiative

By Steven D. Strachan

For The Herald

As we approach the November election, the rhetoric is flowing from the left and right about almost every candidate and ballot measure. Law enforcement has found itself in the middle of this polarization, especially as it concerns Initiative 940.

The initiative backers gathered signatures to promote a new standard for deadly force, including the removal of “malice,” which had been viewed as too high a bar for potential prosecution.

Our state’s sheriffs and police chiefs, as well as the state’s largest law enforcement labor groups also recognized that improving the policy and training on use of force is important to build trust. We worked with community advocates to clarify the language of their original initiative to the Legislature so it addressed safety concerns for the community and law enforcement.

After the Legislature passed the agreed-upon language, a court case over the process (not the policy) put the original I-940 on the fall ballot — an outcome neither side wanted.

The proponents of I-940, understandably, support the initiative. Law enforcement groups, also understandably, oppose the language of I-940 as written. However, both sides that worked on the agreement want our clarified language to become law regardless of the outcome of the election. That is a difficult and confusing message in a political season and we have been placed in an adversarial process none of us wanted. What matters, though, is both sides agree we should focus on the consensus language, and the Legislature should pass it no matter what. We have strong commitments from leaders in the Legislature, on both sides of the aisle, to get to the right policy.

As a law enforcement officer for more than 30 years, including the last 14 as a chief and sheriff, I have seen up close the divide and the critical need for us to start talking and coming together. Our historic agreement required cooperation, respect and acknowledging perspectives.

Public safety is too important to let this get caught up in divisive rhetoric. Law enforcement is saying we should not trade one problematic deadly force standard for another. We have worked to develop language that works, and we should celebrate and reinforce this remarkable process that will provide better policy and improved relationships.

So, should you vote for the initiative or not? The supporters say yes, because it will lead us to better policy and training. We say no, because the original language is a problem. But we will work with the initiative backers to move us to the same policy and training. It is just a matter of how we get there.

Washington state can set an example for our divided nation by coming together on polarizing issues. Either way you vote, make sure your legislators recognize and reinforce this extraordinary example of the community and law enforcement coming together and building relationships.

It is exactly what we need most right now.

Steven D. Strachan is executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs which represents all 39 sheriffs and over 230 police chiefs across Washington. He has served as a police chief and sheriff in Kent, Bremerton and King County.