Washington State Patrol Seeks Civilian Reps For Police Oversight

PIERCE COUNTY, WA — The Washington State Patrol is looking for two volunteers from Pierce County to become a part of a new police oversight board that investigates incidents where police used deadly force, killing civilians. The team will be used to investigate the death of Manuel Ellis, who was killed while being restrained by Tacoma Police. It's formation also comes shortly after the Washington State Attorney General announced a plan to review all police investigations into deadly use of force in 2020.

The state patrol says the board will be a "multi-agency Independent Investigative Team," or IIT, which will be partially composed of civilians from across Pierce County. Once assembled, the IIT will be called on to investigate all deadly use of force incidents by police across the county.

The position is volunteer only and is not compensated, and requires that the board members be Pierce County residents who are at least 21 years old and have "ties to the communities impacted by the police use of deadly force." The two chosen members will be trained in use of force investigations and then taken on a variety of duties including:

• Interviewing and vetting IIT Investigators
• Reviewing conflict of interest statements
• Attending briefings with law enforcement leaders
• Reviewing investigation files

Anyone who is interested is asked to submit a letter to IITCommunityRep@wsp.wa.gov by July 10. Applicants should give a resume and describe their personal background, their involvement in community affairs and why they're interested in serving as a citizen representative.

More about the application process can be found here.

Police say the IIT board is the result of Initiative 940— a police reform initiative passed by voters in November 2018. I-940 requires that all deadly use of force by police be investigated by an independent law enforcement agency.

How well Washington state law enforcement agencies have been in compliance with I-940 has recently been called into question. Earlier in June it came to light that the Pierce County Sheriff's Department failed to meet several of the legal requirements set forth by the initiative. During the investigation into death of Manuel Ellis, who was killed while being restrained by Tacoma Police, the Pierce County Sheriff's Department failed to report for months that they had deputies on scene at the time of Ellis' death, meaning their investigation was not independent and therefore invalid under I-940.

Subsequent investigation found Pierce County had failed at least two other legal requirements: deputies had not appointed community members to be a part of the review process and had not set up a liaison with Ellis' immediate family.

As a result, not only was the Pierce County Sheriff's Department's investigation discontinued and handed to Washington State Patrol, the state has announced they will review all law enforcement probes into police killings to make sure that law enforcement agencies across the state are following the mandates of Initiative 940.

Washington State Patrol says the IIT is being assembled in part to investigate Ellis' death.

"The goal of this law and the participation of the two Community Representatives is to enhance accountability and increase trust between law enforcement and the communities served," said WSP Chief John R. Batiste. "I urge those interested to apply as soon as possible so the investigation can move forward, and thus find and follow the facts wherever they may lead."

Earlier in the month, Bonney Lake and Puyallup Police also put out calls for local representatives to the IIT board.

Related: Washington Will Review All 2020 Police Deadly Use Of Force Probes