FIFE, Wash. — A Pierce County city's police chief is sounding the alarm in a public letter after a juvenile detention facility "refused" to book a teen assault suspect.
Pete Fisher, the police chief in Fife, said that last week a 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of assault, malicious mischief and "interfering with the reporting of domestic violence."
“It's a little frustrating, obviously, when we take somebody into custody, and we're not able to book them," said Fisher.
Fisher said that after officers took the suspect into custody, they attempted to book him into Remann Hall, which is located on the west end of Tacoma. Fisher said Remann Hall "refused to take the juvenile and advised that they are only booking on felony-level crimes." The statement said the teen was reported to have been throwing things in the house, punching holes in the wall and assaulting both his parents.
The refusal to book is "an ongoing issue throughout Pierce County," Fisher said. Remann Hall has refused to book juvenile suspects "on several occasions" in the past, according to Fisher.
"As a result, officers are left to figure out for themselves what to do to try and protect the victims, the juvenile, and choose the option which provides the greatest mitigation for liability for themselves and the communities they serve," reads part of Chief Fisher's statement. "It is completely unacceptable that a system meant to protect, rehabilitate and hold juvenile offenders accountable has failed their community on numerous occasions and has pushed liability to our officers, our communities, and the citizens they are sworn to protect."
Other leaders in Pierce County also believe that policies at Remann Hall need to be reviewed.
Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett said the booking limitations are restricting law enforcement.
"It's actually been an issue for many, many months, far more than a year here in Pierce County," said Robnett. "It puts law enforcement officers in a dreadful position where they have to make an arrest just in the interest of public safety, maybe in the interest of the juvenile safety, and they don't have anything to do with that juvenile."
She said this recent situation shows the policies at Remann Hall regarding booking need to be addressed.
"They specifically said we need an override and they were denied," Robnett said. "That's what needs to change."
Fisher said in his statement that police chiefs in the area have met with officials at Remann Hall to discuss these concerns.
"We have met with Remann Hall on a number of occasions to talk about our concerns, and nothing's changed," said Fisher. "And so I cannot sit by and let our officers be put in a position like this."
TJ Bohl, an administrator for Pierce County Juvenile Court, which runs Remann Hall, said they try to balance the safety of the community, resources in their facility, and the long-term well-being of young people and their families.
He sent a statement to KING 5 that said in part:
“Pierce County Juvenile Court, also known as Remann Hall, is continually assessing and adjusting its booking policies based upon the research, facts and circumstances within the community. Given the age and condition of our facility, as well as current staffing levels, our detention center can only house up to 40 young people in the facility. At the present time, we are housing anywhere between 26 to 32 young people every day. Most of the young people being detained in the facility are here for class A violent felony offenses, including murder, armed robbery, and serious assaults.”
Bohl also added:
“As to this particular case the Fife Police Chief was referencing, they failed to provide police reports or any additional information about the incident in order for us to assess whether or not detention was appropriate for the 17.5 year old youth with no criminal history. We have been engaged with law enforcement officials from across the County in the last year to share information and resources, and we remain committed to partnering.”
Fisher said once he was made aware of this issue on the day it happened, he got directly involved in trying to get the teen booked and contacted multiple people. He also said when the prosecutor’s office asked for the reports, he sent them.
Fisher said he had the sergeant in his office and spoke to the Remann Hall supervisor on speaker phone, who he said relayed they were not booking for misdemeanors. Fisher said he requested to speak to the presiding judge and was told they were not available.
Fisher also reached out to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office with his concerns, which in turn also reached out to Remann Hall. The prosecuting attorney’s office told Remann Hall they believed Fife police were worried about the teen and the risk he posed to his family and said Fife police were seeking an override to keep the teen’s family safe.
Remann Hall did not book the teen, despite the above requests.
Fife isn't the first police department to publicly share concerns over juvenile detention bookings. Back in April, the Tukwila Police Department said they are "being set up for failure" when it comes to handling cases involving juveniles. According to police, juvenile offenders are unable to be booked into juvenile detention unless they meet specific criteria involving serious violent crime.
"The last thing any officer or community wants is for an avoidable tragedy to occur," the police department said in its Facebook post. "However as we continue to see these situations play out, we continue to see more and more juveniles reoffending, becoming bolder and becoming more violent with every additional crime they commit. They are causing millions of dollars in damage to the cars they are stealing, businesses and properties they are burglarizing and more importantly, leaving victims of their crimes traumatized and in fear following these repeat incidents. There needs to be hard conversations as to why this is happening, what can be done to slow these occurrences down and long-term changes following these discussions to keep these things from happening in the first place."
The Lake Forest Park Police Department echoed the same sentiment in April, saying it lacks the tools to investigate.
"I think as a society, we understand that children are still learning – they need to have the ability to make mistakes and be corrected – but at a certain point, they're not making those corrections," said LFPD Detective Jason Czebotar. "It's up to society to step up and correct them to get on the right path."