Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
This rule implements parts of Initiative Measure No. 940,
passed in November 2018, and chapter 4, Laws of 2019 (SHB 1064), signed into
law in February 2019. As stated in section 2 of Initiative Measure No. 940,
"The intent of the people in enacting this act is to make our communities
safer. This is accomplished by requiring law enforcement officers to obtain
violence de-escalation and mental health training, so that officers will have
greater skills to resolve conflicts without the use of physical or deadly
force." While it is understood that police culture is part of the larger
culture, it is critical for law enforcement training to proactively address the
issue of law enforcement and its intersection with marginalized communities and
contribute to changing outcomes for the better.
(1) Beginning December 7, 2019, all new
general authority peace officers must complete a minimum of two hundred hours
of initial violence de-escalation and mental health training in the basic law
enforcement academy (BLEA). Violence de-escalation and mental health training
will include the following topics:
(a) Patrol
tactics, actions and communication methods that de-escalate situations when
appropriate to reduce the likelihood of injury to all parties involved, avoid
unnecessarily escalating situations that may lead to violence, and avoid
unnecessarily placing officers in situations that require or lead to deadly
force by:
(i) Managing the distance between
the officer and the persons involved;
(ii) Utilizing shielding to protect the
officer and others from a threat;
(iii) Managing the pace of an interaction;
and
(iv) Engaging in communication
to increase options for resolving the incident and reduce the likelihood of
injury to all parties involved.
(b) Recognizing and managing the impact of
stress on the officer's perceptions and reactions;
(c) Understanding emotional intelligence and
self-awareness;
(d) Understanding
the psychology and foundational principles of procedural justice to build trust
and rapport, including training on ethics;
(e) Recognizing and mitigating the impact of
implicit and explicit bias on the officer's perceptions and
reactions;
(f) Recognizing patterns
of behavior in individuals that may be related to mental or behavioral health
issue or other disability, per
RCW
43.101.427(5);
(g) Use of techniques and communication
strategies to calm persons who appear to be agitated or demonstrating unusual
behavior related to a mental or behavioral health issue or other disability,
per
RCW
43.101.427(5);
(h) Proper use of nonlethal defensive tactics
to gain physical control when necessary;
(i) Alternatives to the use of physical or
deadly force so that de-escalation tactics and less lethal alternatives are
part of the decision-making process leading up to the consideration of deadly
force;
(j) Use of a decision-making
simulator ("shoot don't shoot") and cognitive exercises to improve accurate
recognition of threats and proper level of force response;
(k) Understand the "good faith" standard as
stated in
RCW
9A.16.040(4)(a);
(l) Learning about the historical
intersection of race and policing, the experience of Black Americans then and
now, including: The institution of slavery through the Civil Rights Act of
1964, mass incarceration, the role and impacts of police in schools, the
ongoing influence of race relations, strategies to reconcile past injustice,
and the importance of fair and impartial policing. This training should be
supplemented by current data and research;
(m) Understanding how culture and differences
in experiences, histories, and social norms impacts community perceptions of
law enforcement and employing cultural humility skills, with the goal of
learning about respectful and effective approaches with communities of color
including, but not limited to, Black Americans, African Immigrants, Latinxs,
Native Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, American Muslims, Sikhs,
and Arabs;
(n) Learning to build
more positive relationships with specific communities within areas officers
serve by understanding how biases, stereotypes, and a lack of understanding
about varying cultural norms negatively impacts police interactions with the
public;
(o) Learning about the
history of police interaction with the LGBTQ+ communities and learning about
respectful and effective communication and interaction with these
communities;
(p) Learning about
effective communication and interaction with:
(i) Youth;
(ii) Individuals who have experienced
domestic violence, sexual assault, or human trafficking;
(iii) Immigrant and refugee communities, and
those with limited-English proficiency;
(iv) Persons who have barriers to hearing,
understanding, or otherwise complying with law enforcement officers.
(q) Learning about the systemic
challenges facing indigent populations, the nature of crimes and poverty, and
the cycle of recidivism for those experiencing poverty;
(r) Examining alternatives to jail, booking,
and arrest and the impacts on members of the community and public
safety;
(s) Learning about the
history of police interaction with Native American communities, including
learning about tribal sovereignty, tribal culture and traditions, and how to
meet the new state law requirements for notification of tribal governments when
a tribal person is killed or injured;
(t) First-aid training on the new statewide
policy, which states: "All law enforcement personnel must provide or facilitate
first aid such that it is rendered at the earliest safe opportunity to injured
persons at a scene controlled by law enforcement," focused on:
(i) Critical life-saving skills;
(ii) Understanding the need to balance the
many essential duties of officers with "the solemn duty to preserve the life of
a person with whom officers come into direct contact";
(iii) Understanding best practices for
securing a scene to facilitate the safe, swift, and effective provisions for
first aid to anyone injured at a scene controlled by law enforcement or as a
result of law enforcement action.
(2) All peace officers certified in
Washington before December 7, 2019, and lateral peace officers certified in
Washington after December 7, 2019, must complete a minimum of forty hours of
continuing de-escalation and mental health training every three years after
receiving their initial peace officer certification. Incumbent peace officers
must complete their first cycle of continuing de-escalation and mental health
training by January 1, 2028. Continuing mental health and violence
de-escalation training must include the following topics:
(a) Patrol tactics, actions and communication
methods that de-escalate situations when appropriate to reduce the likelihood
of injury to all parties involved, avoid unnecessarily escalating situations
that may lead to violence, and avoid unnecessarily placing officers in
situations that require or lead to deadly force by:
(i) Managing the distance between the officer
and the persons involved;
(ii)
Utilizing shielding to protect the officer and others from a threat;
(iii) Managing the pace of an interaction;
and
(iv) Engaging in communication
to increase options for resolving the incident and reduce the likelihood of
injury to all parties involved.
(b) Recognizing and managing the impact of
stress on the officer's perceptions and reactions;
(c) Understanding emotional intelligence and
self-awareness;
(d) Understanding
the psychology and foundational principles of procedural justice to build trust
and rapport, including training on ethics;
(e) Recognizing and mitigating the impact of
implicit and explicit bias on the officer's perceptions and
reactions;
(f) Recognizing patterns
of behavior in individuals that may be related to mental or behavioral health
issue or other disability, per
RCW
43.101.427(5);
(g) Use of techniques and communication
strategies to calm persons who appear to be agitated or demonstrating unusual
behavior related to a mental or behavioral health issue or other disability,
per
RCW
43.101.427(5);
(h) Proper use of nonlethal defensive tactics
to gain physical control when necessary;
(i) Alternatives to the use of physical or
deadly force so that de-escalation tactics and less lethal alternatives are
part of the decision-making process leading up to the consideration of deadly
force;
(j) Use of a decision-making
simulator ("shoot don't shoot") and cognitive exercises to improve accurate
recognition of threats and proper level of force response;
(k) Understand the "good faith" standard as
stated in
RCW
9A.16.040(4)(a);
(l) Learning about the historical
intersection of race and policing, the experience of Black Americans then and
now, including: The institution of slavery through the Civil Rights Act of
1964, mass incarceration, the role and impacts of police in schools, the
ongoing influence of race relations, strategies to reconcile past injustice,
and the importance of fair and impartial policing. This training should be
supplemented by current data and research;
(m) Understanding how culture and differences
in experiences, histories, and social norms impacts community perceptions of
law enforcement and employing cultural humility skills, with the goal of
learning about respectful and effective approaches with communities of color
including, but not limited to, Black Americans, African Immigrants, Latinxs,
Native Americans, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, American Muslims, Sikhs
and Arabs;
(n) Learning to build
more positive relationships with specific communities within areas officers
serve by understanding how biases, stereotypes, and a lack of understanding
about varying cultural norms negatively impacts police interactions with the
public;
(o) Learning about the
history of police interaction with the LGBTQ+ communities and learning about
respectful and effective communication and interaction with these
communities;
(p) Learning about
effective communication and interaction with:
(i) Youth;
(ii) Individuals who have experienced
domestic violence, sexual assault, or human trafficking;
(iii) Immigrant and refugee communities, and
those with limited-English proficiency; and
(iv) Persons who have barriers to hearing,
understanding, or otherwise complying with law enforcement officers.
(q) Learning about the systemic
challenges facing indigent populations, the nature of crimes and poverty, and
the cycle of recidivism for those experiencing poverty;
(r) Examining alternatives to jail, booking,
and arrest and the impacts on members of the community and public
safety;
(s) Learning about the
history of police interaction with Native American communities, including
learning about tribal sovereignty, tribal culture and traditions, and how to
meet the new state law requirements for notification of tribal governments when
a tribal person is killed or injured;
(t) First-aid training on the new statewide
policy, which states: "All law enforcement personnel must provide or facilitate
first aid such that it is rendered at the earliest safe opportunity to injured
persons as a scene controlled by law enforcement," focused on:
(i) Critical life-saving skills;
(ii) Understanding the need to balance the
many essential duties of officers with "the solemn duty to preserve the life of
a person with whom officers come into direct contact";
(iii) Understanding best practices for
securing a scene to facilitate the safe, swift, and effective provisions for
first aid to anyone injured at a scene controlled by law enforcement or as a
result of law enforcement action.