Police restraint gets clarification in House bill

Mental health victims and juveniles can be restrained by law enforcement when responding to requests for assistance from crisis responders.

That is the thrust of House Bill 1735, which passed the state House with a 90-5 vote and is now under consideration in the Senate.

The bill is intended to end confusion caused by the adoption of last year’s House Bill 1310 which prevented crisis responders from receiving police assistance in detaining or transporting people.

“We’re talking about hands-on…whether law enforcement can physically interact with people, not to hurt them but to help them,” said Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland.

“We’re talking about people in a mental health crisis, juveniles who have run away, juveniles who might be abused in households and other circumstances like that,” he said.

Rep. Jesse Johnson, D-Federal Way, said he hopes this bill will provide needed clarity for the provisions outlined in House Bill 1310.

House Bill 1735 also modifies House Bill 1310’s provision for when deadly force is justified by replacing the term “imminent threat” with “immediate threat.”