Kaylee’s Law signed in tribute to young woman gone too soon

(Update: Adding video, comments from Brown, Knopp, Kaylee Sawyer’s mother)

Most ceremonial signings of new Oregon laws are upbeat affairs, full of grins, back-patting and handshakes. But when Gov. Kate Brown joined others outside the Deschutes County Courthouse on a warm, sunny Thursday to sign Kaylee’s Law, there was much satisfaction and pride, to be sure, — but also an inescapable sadness at what was in a sense another memorial service in tribute to a young Bend woman, full of promise, who all agreed was gone much too soon.

Brown, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel all spoke to the small crowd, praising the family of Kaylee Sawyer for their courage and tenacity in working to make Senate Bill 576 a reality.

“I’m so honored to be here,” Brown said. “The family has worked so hard for this day, and I was so incredibly proud of Oregon to be able to sign this law.”

The legislation was named for Sawyer, who was killed by a COCC campus security officer in 2016. Her family proposed the legislation, which was co-sponsored by 24 legislators and unanimously passed the Legislature, setting out standards for campus security officers and their vehicles, to better differentiate them from police officers.

Among the requirements are that the campus officers have uniforms, equipment and vehicles that aren’t similar to those of traditional law enforcement. COCC has taken steps to comply with those requirements, some even before the law’s passage. The campus officers’ cars no longer have red and blue lights, for example, or a Plexiglas divider, known as a “cage,” between the front and back seat, which Sawyer’s attacker used to his advantage.

Kaylee’s parents said they are hopeful that the new law will save other students’ lives.

“I can breathe a little easier, now that I know that when parents send their kids here, they’re going to be safe,” said Juli Van Cleave, Kaylee’s mother. “COCC is a good school, and the Central Oregon community is amazing — and when something needs to be fixed, we fix it. That’s what this law shows.”

Thursday’s last speaker, Kaylee Sawyer’s father, Jamie Sawyer, probably spoke for the community best.

“Today is a bittersweet day, to say the least,” he said. “Never could I or would I have wanted to imagine walking through the last few years as we have.”

He thanked the many lawmakers, victims’ advocates and others who had helped get the legislation drafted and passed unanimously by both the Senate and House, one of the many unprecedented elements to the measure.

That success “has helped soften some of our pain and loss,” Jamie Sawyer said, “but the toll it has taken, mentally and physically, is tremendous.”

Earlier, Rep. Cheri Helt, R-Bend, began the ceremony, thanking Jamie and Crystal Sawyer for their advocacy and, as other speakers noted, their determination to get the law changed, so “this doesn’t happen to anyone else’s children.”

Hummel called July 24, 2016, the day of Sawyers’ abduction and killing, “the darkest day in Deschutes County’s history.”

“Even in her death, she is continuing to help people,” he said. “And that’s who Kaylee was. She wanted to make a difference in this world, and she will make a difference,” inspiring legislation that will “help keep students safe for decades to come.”

Rosenblum said, “Every time I come to Bend, I think of Kaylee. And I will, every time.”

“I can’t help but reflect that none of this should have been necessary,” the attorney general said. She said the specifics of what occurred were “not predictable, but preventable.”

Brown also tried to strike an upbeat tone.

“This bill is an example of when Oregon is at its best: People coming together to solve a problem.” She thanked Sawyers’ family for working tirelessly to make sure other families don’t face similar tragedy, pain and heartache.

“That takes strength, enormous perseverance and tenacity,” she said, noting how all who knew her said Kaylee Sawyer would “light up a room with her smile and saw the best one people.” The new law, she said, assures “more transparency, better safety and is a way to forever remember Kaylee Sawyer.”

Sen. Tim Knopp, R-Bend, said, “I think it just goes to show the capacity that Oregonians can come together for something that is good for our state and community.”

Knopp held a large photo of Sawyer during the ceremony and as he stood with others behind the governor while she signed the bill.

The audience then gently applauded as she held the two signed pages aloft.