Brewster grapples with new state law enforcement mandates

BREWSTER – The regular monthly meetings of the city council include updates from various departments like finance, fire, public works, and police. However, last Thursday, July 15, law enforcement was front and center as the city prepares to adapt to a dozen new bills signed into law last May by Governor Jay Inslee that will change the way police statewide discharge their duties.
“There are going to be a lot of changes coming up in law enforcement,” said city clerk/treasurer Misty Ruiz. “People will not be getting the same type of service they have gotten.”
Part of the problem the city faces is how to provide response to those citizen calls that the police will no longer handle, Ruiz said. It cannot afford to hire social service personnel to deal with the many non-crime issues.
Brewster Police Chief Marcos Ruiz said the deadline to conform with the bevy of new laws is July 25 and affects every law enforcement in the state. Ruiz said he wants to address Brewster citizens about the changes that are coming because residents are going to discover that many of the services that are used to calling the department to handle will no longer be available.
“It’s not that police officers do not want to respond,” said Ruiz, “It’s just that they cannot.”
Ruiz said the newly passed House bills essentially detract from the quality of life for all state citizens.
“We’re going to have citizens dialing 911 for say, a person in underwear acting crazy in front of their house, but he’s on the public street and now with these laws we cannot respond because no crime has occurred.”
A routine dispatch for local law enforcement is called a welfare or well check where the responding officer confirms an individual’s safety.
Ruiz said his department has been advised by the city’s insurance carrier and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) not to perform a welfare check because it is not a crime.
The law enforcement bills relate to police field tactics, rights of defendants, use of deadly force and its investigation, police interrogation procedures, officer decertification, and more. They include:
● House Bill 1054 relating to tactics and equipment bans chokeholds and neck restraints and restricts the use of tear gas among other provisions.
● HB 1267 establishes an Office of Independent Investigations to look into deadly force incidents.
● HB 1310 concerning uses of force mandates de-escalation tactics and minimizing use of force.
● Senate Bill 5066 addresses officer intervention in the event of excessive force used by a fellow officer and reporting requirements for wrongdoing.
● SB 5051 focuses on accountability and oversight for officer training, background checks, and decertification.
"These bills are all going to work in coordination with one another to create a system of accountability and integrity stronger than anywhere else in the nation," Inslee said.
The new laws are also going to require some adjustments to public expectations.
“It’s going to be a total culture shock for any resident in Washington state when they dial 911 and they’re told ‘I’m sorry, but we can’t respond’,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz added another response to the new rules coming down: “I know there’s been officers throughout the state retiring because of this,” Ruiz said.