Initiative 2113 is an initiative to the 2024 Washington State Legislature that would remove reasonable guardrails on police pursuits adopted by our legislative and executive branches of government. It was certified on January 11th, 2024.
Basic facts
| Ballot Title: | Initiative Measure No. 2113 concerns vehicular pursuits by peace officers. This measure would remove certain restrictions on vehicular pursuits, allowing them upon conditions including an officer’s reasonable suspicion a person has violated the law and poses a threat to the safety of others. Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ] |
| Ballot Summary: | This measure would remove certain restrictions on when peace officers may engage in vehicular pursuits. Such pursuits would be allowed when the officer has a reasonable suspicion a person has violated the law, pursuit is necessary to identify or apprehend the person, the person poses a threat to the safety of others, those safety risks are greater than those of the pursuit, and a supervisor authorizes the pursuit. |
| Filed on: | May 25th, 2023 at 1:29 PM |
| Certified: | January 11th, 2024 (by random sample check) |
| Petition Information: | The Secretary of State’s office reported receiving 25,687 petition sheets for I-2113 bearing 434,594 signature lines. 13,038 of those signatures were selected for a three percent random sample check. 10,579 were accepted and 2,459 were deemed to be duplicate or invalid. |
| Sponsor: | Republican State Party Chair Jim Walsh |
| Principal Funder: | Multimillionaire hedge fund manager Brian Heywood |
| Complete Text: | Available (PDF) |
Why we oppose I-2113
In the words of the Washington Coalition for Police Accountability:
The Washington Coalition for Police Accountability opposes the newest effort to weaken Washington’s pursuit policy, Initiative to the Legislature 2113, which was certified on January 11, 2024.
The current policy in state law is balanced, effective, and aligns with the best practices for law enforcement, which were recommended last year by the nationally respected Police Executive Research Forum and published jointly by the Department of Justice and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Pursuits are appropriate in some circumstances, such as when they can effectively address or prevent violent crime. However, pursuits are not the right tactic for offenses such as shoplifting, broken tail lights, and theft. Why? Because high-speed vehicular pursuits put everyone – officers, uninvolved bystanders, drivers, and passengers – at risk of serious injury and death. Recovering stolen property is not worth risking a human life; there are other, safer options for solving such crimes.
After Washington adopted a pursuit policy in 2021, pursuit-related fatalities in the state dropped by half. Law enforcement officers continue to use pursuits, in a safer manner, and fewer people are getting killed. This is why we should keep the current law.
Initiative 2113 seeks to drag the State backward, allowing pursuits for any infraction, which makes the streets more dangerous for all of us. Our current pursuit policy saves lives – unrestricted pursuits just don’t make sense.
Voting “no” on I-2113 is the right thing to do. The current law is working to protect Washingtonians.