Bill to loosen standards for police pursuits awaits final vote in Senate

Police pursuit bill getting final Senate vote

SB 5352 makes it easier for police to initiate a chase based on the looser standards of 'reasonable suspicion,' but only for certain violent crimes and DUI offenses.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - A bill loosening the standards for police pursuits in Washington needs a final vote in the Senate before it can go to the Governor's desk to be signed.  

Senate Bill 5352 makes it easier for police to initiate a chase based on looser standards of "reasonable suspicion," but only for certain violent crimes and DUI offenses, and only if the suspect poses a serious risk of harm to others. 

The bill comes after a 2021 ruling that created a higher threshold for when officers carry out a pursuit. Rather than "reasonable suspicion," they need "probable cause." 

The bill passed just after midnight on Tuesday in a 57-40 vote. 

Sen. John Lovick (D-Mill Creek), the bill's sponsor, said limiting chases to the worst kinds of crime strikes the right balance between law enforcement and the risk of crashes.  

Police groups couldn't get lawmakers to expand the new pursuit rules to include property crimes like stolen vehicles. While both chambers have now approved versions of the bill, opponents have one more chance to kill it during the final concurrence vote in the Senate.

Fourth District State Representatives Suzanne Schmidt and Leonard Christian who voted in favor of the bill issued the following statement:

"While we felt this bill did not go far enough to restore public safety, we believe it was the right decision to support this legislation. We contacted Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl and Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels. Based on our conversations and their input we felt we needed to move Senate Bill 5342 forward, rather than run the risk of adjourning the session without any progress on the vehicle pursuit issue.

We had hoped for more, but at least we finally moved this disastrous policy back in the right direction. That said, the conversation must continue.

Our law enforcement, local governments, communities and neighborhoods deserve more. We are concerned we will continue to see an increase in crime and vehicle pursuits and when we return to Olympia next year, we will still need a more comprehensive solution."

Rep. Skyler Rude, R-Walla Walla, released the following statement on why he voted against the bill: 

"Although this bill, as voted off the House floor, does slightly improve current law, it does not go far enough.

We heard about the two kids killed in Sunnyside by a driver speeding and traveling in the wrong direction. We listened to another instance of two girls having a sleepover who were plowed down by a stolen vehicle. One of these girls lost her life. Under current law, the suspects in these examples couldn't be pursued. With the slight modifications of Senate Bill 5352, these examples still wouldn't be pursuable offenses. This bill wouldn't have saved the lives that were lost.

Despite the fact House Bill 1363 had strong bipartisan support and brought back the full standard of reasonable suspicion, the majority leaders setting the House agenda were unwilling to improve the watered-down version of the bill the House passed.

The conversation around this sensitive issue isn't over.

We had the opportunity all session to do what was right and what our constituents, businesses, local governments, and law enforcement asked us to do. Instead, we did the bare minimum.

Our law enforcement officers and communities deserve more than this bill offers, which is why I could not support it."

The bill was amended in the House policy committee so it now heads to the Senate for a concurrence vote.