Within hours of the Democrats’ radical police “reform” package becoming law this past weekend, numerous dangerous situations occurred across the state, and law enforcement was forced to back down, resulting in prolonging incidents which were a threat to public safety.  The hastily constructed bills (with almost no involvement from law enforcement or Republican legislators) were the result of Democrat lawmakers caving into the demands of liberal extremists behind the violent riots in Seattle last summer.  The bills are also the latest example of Democrats forcing Seattle’s failed policies onto the rest of Washington State.  Sadly, until these laws are repealed or fixed, we can expect to hear about hundreds of situations in the coming weeks where police officers are not allowed to do the job they have been trained to handle. (Click to read the full Shift Article)

One party gets it – the Washington State Republican Party reiterated its strong opposition to the Democrats “anti-policing” laws which went into effect last weekend.  State GOP Chairman Caleb Heimlich asserted in a media release, “These laws have fundamentally altered how police and sheriff departments respond to dangerous crimes for the worse. Everyone is a loser thanks to these ill-conceived bills – Washington residents are significantly less safe after the implementation of these laws and members of law enforcement are put into situations where they cannot do what they swore to do, protect and serve.” (Washington State Republican Party media release)

Governor Jay Inslee held yet another PR event this morning, during which he “recommended” that all people, both those who are fully vaccinated and unvaccinated, wear a mask in indoor settings.  This follows similar advice given by both federal and many local health officials as the country goes through another wave of COVID infections.  Several critics of Governor Inslee expressed relief that the governor finally demonstrated some restraint and didn’t abuse his power by making it a government mandate forcing people to wear masks.

Possibly the governor was showing some restraint after the release of recent polls which reveal that 37% of Washington voters thought the governor was doing a poor job, compared to only 15% who thought he was doing an excellent job.  Jason Mercier of the Washington Policy Center expressed relief that wearing a mask indoor is only a recommendation, while providing the following advice, “A positive development to see government recommendations instead of mandates. With freedom comes responsibility. Act appropriately.” (KOMO News, Crosscut/Elway Poll, and WPC Center for Government Reform Facebook page)

Because of the early release of prisoners, and many local courts experiencing over a year’s worth of criminal case backlog, Washington State’s corrections system has experienced a 54% reduction of new inmates since the start of the pandemic.  This has resulted in 4,000 empty beds throughout the system, which currently holds about 15,000 inmates.   The Washington State Department of Corrections has stated it plans to consolidate some of the prisoners in different facilities, and this has several inmates concerned that they may be moved to locations which will be difficult for their family members to visit.  (KING5 News)

An extremely misguided and untruthful op-ed by an analyst for a liberal, big-government front group (masquerading as a legitimate think tank) shows the depths of the misinformation liberals must go through to justify their greed for more taxpayer money.  In an attempt to justify the unconstitutional state income tax on capital gains, the author of the Puget Sound Business Journal op-ed actually writes that businesses were calling for the tax.  There are certainly a few companies so dependent on government business that they might seek to have their public sector customers receive more money, but it is a complete falsehood to imply that companies competing against those in other states want to shoulder more of a tax burden just to expand the size of government.

The op-ed tries to justify the fallacy that the capital gains tax is key to “balance” in the state’s tax code.  If balance was truly the goal, then liberal organizations like his would also be proposing the elimination of several taxes and would be writing op-eds against gas taxes and fees associated with recently passed climate bills which will impact the poor the most.  Yet since the government employee union bosses who financially support this organization are strongly against the removal or reduction of any taxes, chances are this group will remain quiet about taxes that impact lower income people the most. (Puget Sound Business Journal)

The dramatic increase in violent crime in Seattle has some liberal politicians pointing fingers at fellow liberals, while others are backpedaling from their previous radical position to slash law enforcement funding.  Lame-duck Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan blamed the reckless actions of Seattle City Councilmembers for the mass exodus of police officers. “It’s not unexpected, losing this number of officers,” Durkan said. “When city leaders talk about cutting a department by 50%, you will lose employees.”

Meanwhile City Council President (and bizarrely still a leading candidate for mayor) M. Lorena Gonzalez attempted to provide political cover for why she and her council colleagues caved into to the radical demands of violent liberal activists to recklessly slash the budget of the city’s police department.  Councilmember Gonzalez spoke about numerous programs that are currently under discussion, which she says will reduce crime (yet critics contend the programs are merely ways for city councilmembers to send even more taxpayer dollars to their political cronies in liberal special interest groups).  Problem is, none of these programs were in place (let alone tested to see if they will actually work to keep the public safe) before the council cut the police department’s budget last year.

Even Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat is critical of the city council’s irresponsible actions, which has created the current public safety crisis in Seattle. Westneat writes, “This is why ‘re-imagining; or ‘defunding’ the police was always going to cost more money, not less. It was governing malpractice that the City Council jumped into this brandishing a protest slogan, and Seattle now is paying a price.” (Seattle Times)

Pierce County law enforcement agencies and prosecutors have joined law enforcement agencies from across Washington to condemn the state’s hastily crafted police “reform” legislation.  After multiple incidents of the new regulations unnecessarily impacting public safety, Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett said, “I wouldn’t blame anyone for looking at these changes and wondering if it’s the police who have been handcuffed instead of the criminals.”

Meanwhile, the Democrat legislators responsible for the poorly crafted legislation continue to ignore reality and are dismissive of the multiple concerns many law enforcement leaders have expressed. Sounding very similar to what Seattle City Councilmembers said last summer after they passed radical police reform measures, Democrat Representative Roger Goodman (D – Kirkland) said, “We know it will take time for law enforcement to adjust, but these changes were made for a reason. The level of excessive force used by some police officers, especially in Black and Brown communities, is unacceptable.” Will Goodman and other Democrat legislators be backpedaling a year from now, just as Seattle politicians are currently doing (see story above), when the result of their silly legislation causes more crime to occur, especially in minority neighborhoods? (News Tribune and Shift)

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn has proposed a set of rules for when the county can remove a homeless encampment.  This proposal came after Dunn called for the county to close down City Hall Park (just to the South of the county courthouse) as a public safety hazard. The park’s homeless encampment has been the source of much violence in the area, including a recent murder.

Dunn’s guidelines for encampment removal include if the camp presents a public health hazard, fire danger, violence or criminal activity, or obstructs the access to rights of way or public resources. The proposal also contains regulations on when the county cannot remove an encampment, such as when the county cannot provide shelter for those displaced.  While Dunn’s proposal appear to be a common sense one, the council is dominated by liberals who have repeatedly shown that they rarely support rational decisions regarding the region’s on-going homeless crisis, which is worsening despite liberals continuing to throw more taxpayer funds at the problem. (MyNorthwest)

Washington State University head football coach Nick Rolovich was asked to expand on his decision to not receiving the COVID vaccine during a news conference on Tuesday.  The second-year Cougar coach said, “The reason for my individual choice will remain private.”  Rolovich then explained his future actions and his broader view on the vaccine. “As I go forward, I plan on adhering to all policies that are implemented for the unvaccinated at the state, local, campus, and conference levels. I am not against vaccination, and I wholeheartedly support those who choose to be vaccinated, including our players, staff, and coaches.” (KQQQ Pullman Radio)

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