Yakima Prosecutor Reacts To Governor’s Use-Of-Force Plan

The use of deadly force is to be the very last resort for Washington's law enforcers.  Its use is rare and Washington law does not require law enforcement agencies to report uses of deadly force but that's due to change.

The Attorney General’s Office is preparing a new report to be released July 1, providing recommendations on how to collect and report data on use of deadly force by Washington’s more than 200 law enforcement agencies.

The idea was fomented in November 2018, when voters passed Initiative 940 with nearly 60 percent of the vote. I-940 requiring “completely independent” investigations of all instances when law enforcement uses deadly force resulting in death or substantial bodily harm. The energy behind this has been revved up by the national protests.

As it stands now, officer involved use of force cases are reviewed by the Yakima Valley Special Investigations unit which investigates and presents a report to Yakima County Prosecutor Joe Brusic.  The final charging decision is up to Brusic but that could change if the Governor gets his way.

That's not an idea that makes sense to Prosecutor Brusic who was a guest on KIT radio's Morning News program this morning. (6/23/20)