(The Center Square) – In less than two months, law enforcement agencies across Washington state will have a less restrictive set of rules when it comes to vehicle pursuits of fleeing suspects.
The Washington State Legislature this session loosened restrictions on law enforcement pursuits in the form of passing Initiative 2113 to allow police to pursue any driver if they have reasonable suspicion that they have violated the law.
Police agencies across the state had pleaded with lawmakers to reconsider restrictions placed on law enforcement in the wake of reforms that followed the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis and the subsequent movement to defund police.
In 2021, the state Legislature passed a bill that was signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee that required that the fleeing person pose an “imminent threat” of harming someone as the threshold for police to engage in a vehicle pursuit.
It will now be up
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