Substitute House Bill 2057 originally sponsored by Representatives Hayes, Hurst, Klippert, Holy, Van De Wege and Hope (all are current/former LEOs except Van De Wege) has passed the state legislature and will be signed by Inslee.
The House passed the bill by a vote of 93-4 with Representatives Overstreet, Scott, Shea, and Taylor voting against.
The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 48-1 with Senator Hasegawa voting against.
Brief Summary of Substitute BillŸPermits a police officer to arrest a person without a warrant when a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor offense is committed in the presence of another officer.
Background:A police officer may arrest a person without a warrant for committing a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor offense but only when the offense was committed in the presence of the arresting officer except for in certain situations enumerated in statute.
Summary of Substitute Bill:A police officer is authorized to arrest a person without a warrant for committing a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor offense when the offense is committed in the presence of a police officer, though not necessarily the arresting officer.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony:(In support) This bill would give more resources to police officers to positively affect their quality of life. Officers routinely sit in a surveillance room and transfer probable cause to an arresting officer. This bill helps in undercover situations, where it is not appropriate for the officer who witnessed a crime to make contact immediately. This bill would bring Washington in line with other states that have a similar transfer in place, and would be good to combat low-level crimes like organized theft.
Police officers have always thought they could do a transfer of probable cause among officers, and have done so for a long time. It is often used in prostitution investigations, when it is safer to send in uniformed officers rather than someone who is undercover. Officers rely on teamwork to make arrests. It is not always possible for the officer who sees the crime to make the arrest.
This bill is also in response to the State v. Ortega case. The Court invited this change in the Ortega decision. The dissent encouraged the Legislature to consider an amendment to statute so as not to bar the use of an effective law enforcement tool.
Generally, there is no break in the chain of observation that leads to an officer's conclusion that there is probable cause to arrest. Revealing the locations of surveillance positions has a tendency to compromise police investigations and puts lives in jeopardy. This is the way police have done business for decades.
(Opposed) None.
Persons Testifying: Representative Hayes, prime sponsor; Tom McBride, Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys; Mitch Barker, Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs; Dusty Pierpoint, Lacey Police Department; and Chris Tracy, Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs.
http://dlr.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/default.aspx?Bill=2057&year=2013
