| Passed by the Senate April 21, 2003 YEAS 44 BRAD OWEN ________________________________________ President of the Senate Passed by the House April 9, 2003 YEAS 92 FRANK CHOPP ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives | I, Milton H. Doumit, Jr., Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5473 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. MILTON H. DOUMIT JR. ________________________________________ Secretary | |
| Approved May 14, 2003. GARY LOCKE ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | May 14, 2003 - 2:45 p.m. Secretary of State State of Washington |
| State of Washington | 58th Legislature | 2003 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 02/21/03.
AN ACT Relating to providing law enforcement officers with training in interaction with persons with a developmental disability or mental illness; and adding a new section to chapter 43.101 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 43.101 RCW
to read as follows:
(1) The commission must offer a training session on law enforcement
interaction with persons with a developmental disability or mental
illness. The training must be developed by the commission in
consultation with appropriate self advocate and family advocate groups
and with appropriate community, local, and state organizations and
agencies that have expertise in the area of working with persons with
a developmental disability or mental illness. In developing the
course, the commission must also examine existing courses certified by
the commission that relate to persons with a developmental disability
or mental illness.
(2) The training must consist of classroom instruction or internet
instruction and shall replicate likely field situations to the maximum
extent possible. The training should include, at a minimum, core
instruction in all of the following:
(a) The cause and nature of mental illnesses and developmental
disabilities;
(b) How to identify indicators of mental illness and developmental
disability and how to respond appropriately in a variety of common
situations;
(c) Conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques for
potentially dangerous situations involving persons with a developmental
disability or mental illness;
(d) Appropriate language usage when interacting with persons with
a developmental disability or mental illness;
(e) Alternatives to lethal force when interacting with potentially
dangerous persons with a developmental disability or mental illness;
and
(f) Community and state resources available to serve persons with
a developmental disability or mental illness and how these resources
can be best used by law enforcement to benefit persons with a
developmental disability or mental illness in their communities.
(3) The training shall be made available to law enforcement
agencies, through electronic means, for use at their convenience and
determined by the internal training needs and resources of each agency.
(4) The commission shall make all reasonable efforts to secure
private and nonstate public funds to implement this section.