Bill To Create Police Use-Of-Force Database Passes WA Legislature

OLYMPIA, WA — A bill to create a new database to better track and log the use of force by police and other law enforcement agencies has made its way through the Washington state Legislature.

The bill, SB 5259, was sponsored by Sen. T’wina Nobles (D-Fircrest) and requested by Attorney General Bob Ferguson, but drew a strong bipartisan support, passing the Senate 46 - 2 in March and recently passing the House 97 - 1.

The bill now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee's desk for final approval. Once signed, it will create a publicly-available database tracking police incidents in which:

• Someone died.
• Someone was severely injured.
• An officer used force against a person, but the person did not die or suffer substantial bodily harm.
• An officer shot at gun, pointed a gun at a person, put someone in a chokehold, used a taser or pepper spray, hit someone with a club or baton, physically struck someone or rammed them with their patrol car.

Each incident logged in the database must include broader details like the date, time and location but also more specific info like the type of force the officer used, which agencies were on scene, how many other officers or suspects were present and the age, gender, race and ethnicity of both the officer and the person they used force on.

Nobles says she sponsored the legislation in part because Washington currently does not have a centralized database to find this kind of information.

“Washington State has no single source where the public can get information about uses of force, let alone other types of interactions between community and law enforcement,” Nobles said. “Specifically, communities of color face disproportionately negative outcomes from interactions with law enforcement; however, without data, it is impossible to comprehensively track and address. The data captured by Senate Bill 5259 will enable better allocation of resources, and more effective assessment of current police reform strategies. What’s more, by collecting and reporting such data, we have a critical opportunity to build community trust through transparency.”

Once the governor has signed off on SB 5259, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) will be tasked with creating an advisory group to manage the program. That group must include three representatives from local, non-government organizations or advocacy groups, three from law enforcement agencies and at least one from the private sector who has worked in data collection.

“I appreciate the dedication of the broad coalition who helped get this bill through the legislature,” the attorney general said. “Legislators on both sides of the aisle collaborated with law enforcement and community groups to create this necessary legislation. This common sense, bipartisan reform is long overdue.”

The database itself will be compiled by a Washington state college or university, to be named by the AGO.

While the data compiled in the database will be readily available for lawmakers, researchers, and the general public, the bill's passage will also require the advisory group to create a recurring summary report on police use-of-force, to be sent to the Legislature on a semi-annual basis, the AGO said.