State Senate OKs restrictions on police tactics and gear
The state Senate has approved a measure restricting certain police tactics and gear, including the use of neck restraints and tear gas, after police killings of Black people sparked tumultuous racial-justice protests last year.
Majority Democrats pushed the bill through on a 27-22 vote Tuesday night over the objections of Republicans who warned it would endanger officers and the public alike.
The measure, a centerpiece of the Democrats’ police-reform agenda, would allow the use of tear gas only in response to riots that occur in jails or prisons, or to deal with barricaded subjects or hostage situations. It bans the use of choke holds, neck restraints and no-knock warrants, limits the use of high-speed pursuits, and restricts the acquisition of military equipment by police departments.
“This last year has been seared into a lot of our consciences,” said Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, referencing the police killings of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis and Breonna Taylor, a Black woman killed in Louisville, Kentucky, by authorities who had a no-knock warrant. “We as a people can no longer tolerate the damage, the collateral damage, that has been done to the residents of our state by the overuse, misuse and abuse of these tools.”
https://www.heraldnet.com/northwest/washington-senate-oks-restrictions-on-police-tactics-gear/
