WA police reform bill seeks to ban unleashed police K9s, ban most pursuits, and more

Olympia, WA – The Washington State legislature is considering a police reform bill that would prohibit or severely limit law enforcement officers from utilizing a wide range of tools and tactics. House Bill 1054, which was pre-filed by Representative Jesse Johnson (D – 30th District) on Christmas Eve, would completely prohibit the use of all chokeholds and neck restraints, even in deadly force situations.

Article originally published at The Police Tribune.

Police would no longer be allowed to use “unleashed” K9s “for the purpose of arresting or apprehending” suspects and “tear gas” would not be permitted “for any purpose” under the proposed legislation.

The bill also takes aim at “military equipment,” banning everything from armored vehicles and helicopters, to “machine guns,” suppressors, long-range acoustic devices and “mine resistant ambush protected vehicles,” among other tools and weapons.

“Any law enforcement agency in possession of military equipment…shall return the equipment to the federal agency from which it was required, if applicable, or destroy the equipment by December 31, 2022,” the legislation reads.

Law enforcement agencies would still be permitted to accept medical supplies and equipment, furniture, school supplies, “unarmed vehicles and vessels,” protective gear, office supplies, and other such items through federal military equipment surplus programs under the bill.

Police would not be allowed to engage in vehicle pursuits unless they have probable cause to believe the suspect “committed or is committing a violent offense or sex offense,” and pursuing them is “necessary for the purpose of identifying or apprehending” them, according to the bill.

Officers would still be prohibited from pursuing such suspects unless they could also determine that “the safety risks to failing to apprehend or identify the person are considered to be greater than the safety risks associated with the vehicular pursuit” and have also obtained authorization from a supervising officer, the legislation reads.

The bill would bar police from shooting at any moving vehicle, unless the officer is facing “an imminent threat” of harm due because someone inside the vehicle is using a deadly weapon against them. However, the moving vehicle itself would not be considered to be a “deadly weapon” under the bill, making it illegal to shoot somebody using a vehicle as a weapon.

Uniformed officers would also be prohibited from doing anything to “intentionally cover, conceal, or obscure” their badge number “or other identifying information” while on duty, the proposed legislation read.

COVID-19 lockdowns are taking down an independent news outlet

Nobody said running a media site would be easy. We could use some help keeping this site afloat.

Colleagues have called me the worst fundraiser ever. My skills are squarely rooted on the journalistic side of running a news outlet. Paying the bills has never been my forte, but we’ve survived. We have ads on the site that help, but since the site’s inception this has been a labor of love that otherwise doesn’t bring in the level of revenue necessary to justify it.

When I left a nice, corporate career in 2017, I did so knowing I wouldn’t make nearly as much money. But what we do at NOQ Report to deliver the truth and fight the progressive mainstream media narrative that has plagued this nation is too important for me to sacrifice it for the sake of wealth. We know we’ll never make a ton of money this way, and we’re okay with that.

Things have become harder with the coronavirus lockdowns. Both ad money and donations that have kept us afloat for a while have dropped dramatically. We thought we could weather the storm, but the resurgence of lockdowns that mainstream media and Democrats are pushing has put our prospects in jeopardy. In short, we are now in desperate need of financial assistance.

The best way NOQ Report readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We need approximately $17,300 to stay afloat through March when we hope the economy will be more open, but more would be wonderful and any amount that brings us closer to our goal is greatly appreciated.

The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. This shouldn’t be the case as our traffic the last year has been going up dramatically. June, 2018, we had 11,678 visitors. A year later in June, 2019, we were up to 116,194. In June, 2020, we had 614,192. In November, 2020, we hit 1.2 million visitors.

We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.

As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.

American Conservative Movement

Join fellow patriots as we form a grassroots movement to advance the cause of conservatism. The coronavirus crisis has prompted many, even some conservatives, to promote authoritarianism. It’s understandable to some extent now, but it must not be allowed to embed itself in American life. We currently have 8000+ patriots with us in a very short time. If you are interested, please join us to receive updates.

[yikes-mailchimp form=”1″]