Drivers in Washington state are free to walk away from police cruisers without fear of getting caught, a luxury that will soon change when a new state law takes effect.
A controversial state law enacted in July 2021 restricted police officers from pursuing suspects, leading to nearly 8,000 incidents of drivers fleeing law enforcement.
But the chase will resume Thursday when state police will have the authority to arrest suspected criminals after Agencies saw a significant increase in driver attrition over the past three years.
‘WWe’ve had three years of word getting out: ‘The police can’t come after you,'” said Chris Loftis, director of communications for the Washington State Patrol. “Well, I think you’ll see people surprised when the police chase you.”
He added: “We are hoping to change driving behavior for the better and better.”
On Thursday, law enforcement agencies in the state will now have the authority to stop suspected criminals, three years after agencies saw a significant increase in hit-and-run drivers.
In July 2021, Washington lawmakers passed legislation requiring certain criteria to be met in order to conduct a police chase.
The 2021 laws were based on the argument that police chases caused more harm than good and could lead to accidents. The legislation also targeted people of color, primarily for low-level infractions, King5 News reported.
Between July 26, 2021, and March 31 of this year, drivers fled from troopers 7,941 times, according to the Washington State Patrol.
In 2020, the Washington State Patrol conducted 1,689 pursuits; that number dropped significantly when the 2021 law went into effect.
Due to the law, police officers could not legally pursue hit-and-run drivers because the suspected crimes did not meet the strict criteria for police pursuits established by the Washington State Legislature.
Before the 2021 restriction, agencies did not track the number of motorists who did not stop for police, as lights and sirens automatically forced the driver to stop. But that changed after the controversial state law went into effect.
Loftis explained that the s wordThe state’s “no pursuit” policy spread quickly among criminals, and that’s when the agency began documenting it.
‘I saw a peak. “It was actually more of a rocket,” he said. “It went from a number so low we didn’t need to code it to something in the thousands that first year.”
In 2023, state patrol had highest number of hit-and-run drivers
He also told the news outlet that cops “missed the number of potential negative effects of chases, but we also increased the number of times people involved in criminal activity got away from us.”
Over the three-year period, 2023 was the year with the highest number of escape incidents, with a staggering 3,337.
In part because of these numbers, lawmakers lowered the threshold for police to pursue a suspect from probable cause to reasonable suspicion for limited crimes.
These limited crimes were considered violent crimes, sexual crimes or escapes, DUI, vehicular assault and assault with domestic violence in the first, second, third or fourth degree.
Loftis said car thefts, vandalism and various property crimes increased during this period.
‘People just ignored the lights. They were just ignoring the sirens,” Loftis said.
In March, the state House voted 77-20 to approve Initiative 2113. The initiative then passed the state Senate by a vote of 36-13.
Initiative 2113 will restore a police officer’s authority to pursue a driver when there is reasonable suspicion that a person has violated the law
Agencies are preparing for the change.
According to the Lakewood Police Department, drivers fled from police 727 times between July 2021 and March 31, 2024, city data shows.
“This was out of the ordinary and we had never seen it before,” Lakewood Deputy Police Chief John Unfred said.
‘Those are people who are escaping justice. Once they take off, it’s hard to know who they are, who’s behind the wheel.’
He noted that many of the drivers encountered by officers after the 2021 law change were suspected of stealing cars.
“We have the suspect literally in front of us and there is nothing we can do about it,” he said. “This emboldened them.”
Later this week, when the new law takes effect, Unfred said “we’re going to revert our policy essentially to what it was before the 2021 law change.” But, he said, they will also be aware of what the agents will do.
Before 2021, he said his department was averaging nine chases every four months and “it was already pretty restrictive.”
He added: “We don’t pursue everything.”
Both agencies, Lakewood Police and Washington State Patrol, will tread carefully and require officers to weigh the value of a law enforcement opportunity against the potential danger to the public.
Loftis added: “We’ve always tried to find that balance between ‘where does the risk outweigh the reward of catching this person?’
Unfred said his department has already seen a change in criminal behavior since the law was amended.
He said, in part: “I think the word has already spread among suspects that the law has changed and we have to be careful.”