Washington Voters to Decide on Lowering Bar for Police Deadly Force Prosecutions

Voters in Washington will decide on Tuesday whether that state should lower the barrier to prosecuting police for use of deadly force. Ballot initiative 940 would remove the state's malice requirement, which says prosecutors must prove an officer acted with "evil intent" when bringing criminal charges for killing in the line of duty.

Embed from Getty Images

According to NBC News, voters in Washington will decide on Tuesday whether that state should lower the barrier to prosecuting police for use of deadly force.

Ballot initiative 940 would remove the state's malice requirement, which says prosecutors must prove an officer acted with "evil intent" when bringing criminal charges for killing in the line of duty.

Law enforcement organizations, say the proposal would put officers at risk.

Teresa Taylor, executive director of the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs, said, "We cannot sit quietly by and not let voters know that the language in the current initiative is language that we cannot suggest they vote for."

The initiative was spearheaded by an organization called De-Escalate Washington, which raised at least $1 million in support and collected more than 350,000 voter signatures to get the initiative on the ballot.

About the Author
Page 1 of 2351
Next Page