House floor debate on House Bill 1310 (uses of force by officers) | March 6, 2021

Featuring House Republican Reps. Gina Mosbrucker, Jenny Graham, Jim Walsh, and Brad Klippert. House Bill 1310 establishes standards for when law enforcement can use physical or deadly force, and requires the Attorney General and Criminal Justice Training Commission to develop model policies and training on use of force and de-escalation tactics consistent with standards provided in the legislation. The bill fails to acknowledge the realities that police officers face every day and fails to incorporate a “reasonable officer” standard that accounts for these realities.

House Republicans believe:
- Our state should not defund the police and should not disarm the police.
- We should not take away the tools police officers rely on to deescalate situations and avoid the necessity to use deadly force.
- Police officers are already held to a very high standard. We cannot make that standard an impossible one.
- Our state needs to focus on real solutions that will bridge the gap of the already-fragile relationship between police officers and the communities they serve, not widen it.

Learn more about House Bill 1310: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1310&Year=2021&Initiative=false
Learn more about the real-world consequences of this legislation and House Bill 1054: https://houserepublicans.wa.gov/2021/07/09/democrats-police-reform-bills-make-communities-less-safe/#outcomes
Watch other House floor debate highlights here: https://houserepublicans.wa.gov/2019/03/15/house-floor-debate-highlights/