BILL REQ. #:  H-1981.3 

Read first time 02/24/2005.   Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to vehicular accidents involving law enforcement officers; adding new sections to chapter 43.101 RCW; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   It is the intent of the legislature that serious vehicle accidents involving law enforcement officers be independently investigated to ensure independence and objectivity, along with the perception of independence and objectivity, during the investigation. It is the intent of the legislature to have corrective actions in place to reduce future vehicle accidents involving law enforcement officers. There shall be tracking processes implemented to identify vehicle accident trends and provide corrective action to reduce future vehicle accidents. When a law enforcement officer is off duty, the officer will follow the same traffic laws and enforcement policies as any other person using the public roadways.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 43.101 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) If a law enforcement officer is proximately involved in a vehicular accident while on duty, the law enforcement agency employing the officer shall conduct an investigation if:
     (a) The accident causes a serious injury or fatality; or
     (b) Damage to property exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars.
     (2) The investigation under subsection (1) of this section shall be supervised by an independent law enforcement agency.
     (3) A law enforcement officer is considered on duty when the officer is using a law enforcement agency-owned vehicle.
     (4) A law enforcement officer must be removed, for at least twelve months, from duties that involve the operation of a vehicle if an officer is investigated under subsection (1) of this section and is determined to be at fault for four vehicular accidents in any three-year period. The date for the one-year period begins on the date that the final report is issued for the fourth vehicular accident within the three-year period. This section applies if all four of the accidents meet the criteria in subsection (1) of this section.
     (5) Law enforcement agencies shall develop by rule agency policy or, as part of the terms of a collective bargaining agreement, a progressive disciplinary process that may include retraining in vehicle handling, wage or benefit reductions, and termination of employment.
This progressive disciplinary process is to be applied to all law enforcement officers for at-fault, on-duty vehicular accidents, whether or not they meet the criteria in subsection (1) of this section. All law enforcement agencies shall report the following accident data annually to the legislative authority that governs the agency: Number and type of on-duty vehicle accidents involving their officers in the preceding year; and the number and type of disciplinary actions taken.
     (6) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
     (a) "Accident" means a law enforcement vehicle that collided with another vehicle, person, or object.
     (b) "At fault" means the law enforcement officer was found to have caused the accident by an action taken by the law enforcement officer.
     (c) "Independent agency" means a law enforcement agency.
     (d) "Law enforcement officer" has the same meaning as "law enforcement personnel."
     (e) "Property" means any real or personal property.
     (f) "Serious injury" means an injury that requires a paramedic or intermediate life support person as defined in RCW 18.71.200.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 43.101 RCW to read as follows:
     Whenever there is an accident involving a fatality, or serious injury that may result in a fatality, then every driver of a vehicle, bicyclist, or pedestrian involved in the accident shall submit to a drug and alcohol test.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   Traffic laws, accident investigations, and reporting procedures shall be applied equally to all motorists without discrimination or preferential treatment regardless of the motorist's employment, status, or political affiliation, including motorists that may be elected officials, government employees, or off-duty law enforcement officers.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   This act may be known and cited as the "Brock Loshbaugh Act."