WA state and motorcycle law.

[caseyjones955]

So I have a couple family members leaving SD to live in Seattle. One of them is an avid motorcyclist and has just informed me that LEOs are NOT allowed to pursue bikes in the state of WA?

Is this true, is there a "but" in there somewhere?

Does this apply to bicycle cops too?

Of course the normal fender/plate relocation and non-distinct gear/bike mods are already in the works. What do they (cops) do in response to these limitations, if they exist?

 

[Zeus36]

Washington State:


Since January of this year, more than 900 drivers have failed to stop for a Washington State Patrol trooper trying to pull them over. The patrol and other police agencies around the state say they’ve never seen such blatant disregard for their lights and sirens. The change in driver behavior comes after state lawmakers passed strict new rules on when police can engage in pursuits.

The increase in failures-to-yield to police stops may be due to passage last year of House Bill 1054, a sweeping police tactics law that, among other things, barred high-speed pursuits except in very limited circumstances. The law was part of a package of police reforms majority Democrats passed in response to the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other high-profile police killings — reforms aimed at addressing racial disproportionality in policing.

Under the new law, police officers can’t give chase unless there’s reasonable suspicion to believe the driver is impaired or the higher standard of probable cause to believe they’re an escaped felon or have committed a violent crime or a sex crime. Even then there are restrictions on when officers can pursue. Officers must balance whether the person poses an “imminent threat” and whether the safety risks of the person getting away outweigh the danger of engaging in a high-speed chase.

 

[caseyjones955]

Eluding to save ones own skin is not a comfortable choice. Save for a couple known decent officers, we have very serious problems here in SD that go well beyond law enforcement. We really need such reforms in SD so it is quite understandable that this would feel very important to someone moving from SD.

It sounds like reforms in Seattle are working fairly well. I'd wager that Seattle police will eventually regain the respect and trust of it's citizens once citizens are secure that the old ways are not going to creep back in. I understand private security has done a great job keeping the peace in some of the dicier hoods.

My motorcycling friend is very smart, I suspect the joy of knowing that she can bolt from the cops will quickly roll into enjoying not needing too.