Families push for police accountability reforms in Washington state legislature

SPOKANE, Wash. — A coalition of families affected by police violence is pushing for transparency reforms as lawmakers return to Olympia next week.

The Washington Coalition of Police Accountability (WCPA) held a press conference in downtown Spokane to preview seven different pieces of legislation.

One of the Coalition’s priority legislative items is a push for clearer eligibility requirements for law enforcement (Senate Bill 5364).

The second advocates for independent prosecution (Senate Bill 5584), which has been through Olympia several times with no success.

This year, advocates expect the $4 million price tag to be a tough sell.

“It’s very insulting to a mother and to a family member when you’ve lost a loved one to know that a person would put a price tag on a life,” said Debbie Novak, the Eastern Regional Lead for WCPA.

Debbie Novak was one of several speakers who shared her story as a family member affected by police violence. She lost her son, David Novak, to a police shooting in 2019.

Novak is asking the public to weigh the taxpayer cost of SB 5584 against the cost of repeated settlements and extended investigations.

“Every time there’s a death in Spokane. How much money do you see that goes out for a settlement? And that does not include the price tag that the police department has for that investigation, and for the money that went out to attorneys,” Novak said.

Novak is optimistic about their third priority bill that will have no cost to taxpayers.

Senate Bill 5925 allows the Washington Attorney General to more easily investigate law enforcement, giving them the power to gather information from departments by bypassing the current public records process that the general public has to go through.

“The AG is so concerned about the systemic problems that are happening across the state that they’ve agreed that they’re going to absorb it within the agency,” Novak said.

The families are working with local lawmakers, along with others across the state, to get these bills proposed and passed in Olympia.

In a statement shared with KXLY, Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall shared in part, “Regardless of legislative changes, SPD’s focus remains the same: conducting thorough, fair and timely investigations.”