Initiative 940, a measure that would redefine situations where law enforcement officers may use deadly force and require de-escalation training, on Tuesday evening was denied by Lewis County voters, with 59.11 percent voting against the measure. That number remained relatively consistent following a second ballot count Wednesday, with naysayers dropping slightly to 58.8 percent.
However, just over 59 percent of state voters voted in favor of the initiative, as of Tuesday evening. That number stayed the same on Wednesday. Proponents have called I-940 a shot at fairly determining whether deadly force was warranted in any given situation, arguing that current law makes it unduly difficult to prosecute an officer who unreasonable shoots and kills someone on the job.
In addition to applying a “good faith” standard, reanalyzing the situation surrounding an officer using deadly force, it would require an officer to apply first aid in certain situations.
If passed, all law enforcement officers in Washington would, beginning in 2019, take de-escalation and mental health training developed by the Criminal Justice Training Commission. New officers would take the training within 15 months of employment.
“Initiative 940, as written, would force police officers to hesitate in performing their responsibilities putting the public and officers’ lives at risk,” proponents, consisting of numerous state law enforcement officials and representatives wrote in a counter argument.
