PUYALLUP, Wash. — The Washington Coalition for Police Accountability (WCPA) held a news conference Tuesday to address what it is calling a “misinformation campaign” regarding the state’s recent law enforcement reform laws.
The WCPA brought families together in Puyallup who have been impacted by police violence, as well as other advocates and legal sponsors, to discuss “the actions of police around the state who have intentionally misinterpreted Washington's new police accountability laws or refused to do their jobs in protest, making our communities less safe,” according to a press release.
Katrina Johnson, an activist who helped form the WCPA, knows firsthand the pain of losing someone and not seeing justice done -- her cousin, Charleena Lyles, was killed by Seattle police officers in 2017.
"When I heard that the police were not going to be held accountable, and that was said to me before the investigation was even over, I knew that it was bigger than just my cousin," said Johnson.
Johnson started working to change law enforcement in Washington through legislation. Her first foray into politics led to the passage of Initiative 940 in 2018, which emphasized de-escalation and changed the standards for police's use of deadly force, but she knew it wasn't done there.
"My family was instrumental in Initiative 940, and de-escalate Washington, and from there, every year, we're just trying to find ways to fine tune that and we saw that there were gaps in 940 that needed to be addressed," said Johnson.
More people joined Johnson's movement, forming the WCPA, and have been working with state lawmakers to develop reforms that address policing in the state.
During the state’s last legislative session earlier this year, Gov. Jay Inslee signed a dozen bills into law that aimed to prevent police violence and address many of the concerns that surfaced in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis and the protests that followed.
Since the bills took effect in July, law enforcement agencies across the state have issued statements voicing concerns that the vagueness of some of the bills could lead to a change in police procedure that the community might notice in emergency situations.
Some police leaders have said the new legislature could even lead to an increase in crime due to changes pertaining to use-of-force tactics included in the bills.
Tuesday's press conference took place near the same location where Pierce County deputies recently chose not to pursue a murder suspect with a K9 unit, citing the new reforms. Around noon on Aug. 10, detectives arrested a 16-year-old suspect in that case.
But the coalition says there's nothing in the new laws that suggests police cannot fulfill their duties.
"It's frustrating, but we always know there's going to be a little bit of backlash, but we didn't think it'd be to this extent to where they are not making it safe for the greater community," said Johnson.
Meanwhile, state Representative Jesse Johnson said the new laws do not keep officers from doing their jobs, adding that the new legislation is aimed at making officers “investigate a little harder, makes them work a little more, and that’s what we want because that helps root out the bias and violence and the profiling.”
State Rep. Roger Goodman was also present at the news conference, saying that while there are ambiguities in the laws that will need refinement, officers “will not be punished for doing the right thing.”
As for Johnson, she said the push back from law enforcement is not going to deter her efforts.
"If I can help save one person, one family, someone from living the pain that other impacted families have, it is worth doing, and that is why I get up, every day, dust myself off, and try again," said Johnson.