Washington bill would change how sheriffs are removed

The state’s Criminal Justice Training Commission could remove Washington sheriffs not fit to hold office under a bill heard in the House Community Safety Committee on Monday.

Under the bill:

• Sheriffs candidates running for office would have to submit a request to undergo a background check by the Washington State Patrol. The background check would look into past social media posts, relations with extremist groups and would include a polygraph test and psychological evaluation. CJTC would have to publicly post the candidates who have requested and passed the background check.
• The commission could remove a sheriff who has a felony conviction, is prohibited from owning a gun or if they have not been in law enforcement for the required five years.
• The bill also would require officers and sheriffs to commit to following the state constitution in addition to the United States’ constitution.

Members of the CJTC are appointed by the governor.

“This bill asks a simple question: Why not hold our law enforcement leaders to the highest standards of accountability and professionalism?” said the bill’s sponsor John Lovick, D-Mill Creek.

“Our laws must be updated to make clear what occurs when a law enforcement leader’s certification is revoked for misconduct.”

Novick, a former Snohomish County sheriff, said the bill aimed at “modernizing” the laws in the state.

Under current law, sheriffs only have to get certified by the CJTC within a year of taking office.

The commission sets training benchmarks in criminal justice for peace officers, correctional officers and tribal law enforcement in the state.

Cassie Clayton, with the Northwest Progressive institute, said the bill would increase transparency and trust with law enforcement.

“No law enforcement official gets to pick and choose which laws they recognize,” she said. “This legislation strengthens democracy, by ensuring voters can trust everyone who aspires to lead a law enforcement agency.”

Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels and other critics argue the bill would take power away from voters by letting the commission remove sheriffs.

“The people that I serve, the people who put me into office, don’t get their voice about whether I’m qualified or not qualified, and they certainly lose their voice about whether I am removed for office or not,” Nowels said. “There’s a process to remove a sheriff from office.”

Nowels said the bill would be redundant and adds subjective measures for who qualifies under the law.

“The requirements are already there. All this does is set a framework up for unelected people to decide who gets to come in and who has to go out,” he said. “It’s all politics.”

Nowels said the bill would also draw legal challenges.

Lovick disagreed, saying his legal team had told him the bill would be constitutional and said Georgia and Texas had passed similar laws.