Following the passage of new legislation in Washington, the King County Sheriff’s Office’s new pursuit policy went into effect on Aug. 1, maintaining a raised threshold for engaging in vehicular pursuit higher than state law — albeit with an expanded list of conditions enabling deputies to initiate vehicular pursuits.
Initiative 2113 was passed in the Washington State Legislature in May 2024 and became effective as of June 2024. The initiative served as the third legislative update further modifying thresholds for police to engage in vehicular pursuit following the passage of House Bill 1054 in 2021, which raised thresholds for pursuit and restricted the standard to a list of specific list of crimes; and the subsequent Senate Bill 5352, passed in 2023, that partially lowered the thresholds set through House Bill 1054.
House Bill 1054 established increased restrictions and requirements for law enforcement tactics and equipment, and it raised the standard required for a police officer to engage in vehicular pursuit from a “reasonable suspicion standard” to that of “probable cause,” and restricted pursuit to a list of specific violent and sex offenses.
Senate Bill 5352 reduced the threshold for the initiation of a vehicular pursuit back down to a “reasonable suspicion” standard and expanded the list of qualifying offenses.
With the passage of Initiative 2113, officers have the capacity to engage in vehicular pursuit with “reasonable suspicion” that “a person has violated the law.”
New policy
Effective Aug. 1, 2024, the King County Sheriff’s Office’s revised policy continues to restrict vehicular pursuit to “dangerous felonies and DUI” crimes, with a modification to the definition of a dangerous felony to include burglary, according to the sheriff’s office.
The new policy — covering all of unincorporated King County, in addition to the 12 cities contracted with the sheriff’s office — arrives after the passage of Initiative 2113 “impelled the Sheriff’s Office to evaluate modifications to its policy,” according to a news release.
The King County Sheriff’s Office’s new policy requires four criteria to be met in order for a member to initiate a vehicular pursuit:
1. Reasonable suspicion of a dangerous felony offense, DUI offense, or crime occurring under “extraordinary circumstances” with a threat to persons or the community at large.
2. The pursuit serves as necessary in identifying or apprehending the individual.
3. The person poses a threat to the safety of others and the safety risks of failing to apprehend or identify the person are greater than the safety risks of vehicular pursuit.
4. The pursuing member notifies a supervisor upon the initiation of the pursuit, with the supervisor holding oversight of the pursuit.
The King County Sheriff’s Office’s updated policy maintains a higher threshold for engagement in vehicular pursuit in comparison to statewide law, additionally including factors for consideration in the initiation of a vehicular chase and a list of conditions prohibiting members from engaging in pursuit.
“KCSO’s vehicular pursuit policy has historically been more restrictive than the state law and that’s worked well for us,” stated Undersheriff Jesse Anderson in the news release. “It was important for us to listen to community members asking us to go after dangerous criminals putting people at risk. That really helped drive our decision.”
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