Inslee OKs bills clarifying police reform laws in Washington

By GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed two bills fixing parts of a sweeping package of police reform measures that lawmakers passed last year, in the wake of 2020′s widespread racial justice protests. One of the newly signed bills makes clear officers may use force to help detain or transport people in behavioral health crisis, while the other fixes an oversight that seemed to inadvertently prohibit police departments from possessing certain less-lethal weapons. Both bills passed the state Senate unanimously after previously being passed by the House. The governor credited lawmakers for their willingness to fix to the confusion the measures created.