By Arlene Kiyomi Dennistoun
Northwest Asian Weekly

Toshiko Hasegawa
The two-yard gains Toshiko Hasegawa had hoped for may or may not have happened at the third meeting of the Joint Legislative Task Force on the Use of Deadly Force in Community Policing. The agenda looked promising — it included a roundtable discussion on whether or not to amend the statute on deadly force. But after meeting for nine hours in Olympia on Sept. 13, and spending only about an hour discussing the pros and cons of changing the deadly force statute, gains appeared minimal.
The divide amongst panel members was still evident and demonstrated during the roundtable discussion on whether or not to modify the law. Law enforcement representatives said removing the protections afforded police by requiring proof of malice (evil intent) and lack of good faith (honest and lawful action) would have a “chilling effect on law enforcement and law enforcement’s response to calls.”
When a panel member raised the issue of racial bias and discrimination in communities of color, Hasegawa expressed the sensitivity of addressing the elephant in the room by prefacing her comments with, “My palms are sweaty. Are anyone else’s palms sweaty?” It was a hard conversation for the task force to have, but they pushed on, and that may have been a two-yard gain.
The group spent most of the time at the meeting being informed on state and federal criminal and constitutional laws by attorneys — a law school professor, the executive secretary of the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, and the director of the Center for Justice, American Civil Liberties Union. An officer also showed the task force less-than-lethal options available to police.
The working group reviewed videos of how police have escalated encounters in a matter of seconds, in contrast to police spending 15 minutes observing, walking, and talking with a mentally ill person wielding a knife. Camden, N.J. police did not use weapons, and all survived the encounter.
After House Bill 2907 fell through, which would have removed malice and good faith requirements for deadly force to be lawful, a compromise bill created the task force. A final meeting is scheduled for the second week of November before the panel makes its recommendations to the legislature.
Hasegawa, appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to represent the Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs on the task force, is hosting a community conversation to provide updates and get feedback. Hasegawa will host the next discussion in early December. Hasegawa can be reached at toshikograce@gmail.com.
Arlene can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.
Thank you Arlene Dennistoun and Northwest Asian Weekly for the thoughtful coverage of the work of the Legislative Task Force on Deadly Force in Community Policing. I’m compelled to say that although I’m glad we discussed one piece of the law that focuses on the “malice” and “good faith” standard, in reality, there are things throughout the law that are problematic and should be reviewed. Albeit, each task force member will submit an exhaustive list of all recommended changes to the current statelaw. Those recommendations will be compiled by legislative staff and subsequently voted upon one at a time at the final task force meeting. Each recommendation that receives a majority vote by the task force will be incorporated into the final recommendation to the state legislature.
Finally, the piece mentioned about the “chilling effect” that would occur as a result of changing the law is significant. It was stated various times by multiple law enforcement representatives that essentially, if we change the law, police will refuse to respond to calls for help. Hear me: Cops refusing to perform their job function, out of fear or protest, means they’re not prepared to wear the uniform. Law enfrocement, first and foremost, are servants of the public. Policy makers, as employers of laws and goverrnment built BY the people, FOR the people, have the responsbility to have the public’s back. We must do the right thing and fix the broken law.
Please note that Michael Itti and I decided to reschedule this week’s community feedback conversation. As this will be the final public conversation we host, it will likely take place in early December after the recommendation has been made to inform folks of what happened and get them ready to advocate in the 2017 legislative session.