HomeMy WebLinkAboutres2020-037Whatcom County COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
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Agenda Bill Master Report
File Number: AB2020-406
File ID: AB2020-406 Version: 1 Status: Substitute Approved
File Created: 09/21/2020 Entered by: DBrown@co.whatcom.wa.us
Department: Council Office File Type: Resolution
Assigned to: Council Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee Final Action: 09/29/2020
Agenda Date: 09/29/2020 Enactment #: RES 2020-037
Primary Contact Email: KKershne@co.whatcom.wa.us
TITLE FOR AGENDA ITEM:
Resolution supporting Whatcom County Sheriff Deputies, Corrections Deputies, and Law Enforcement
Officials across the County in response to the increased attacks on law enforcement across the Country
SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE:
Resolution supporting Whatcom County Sheriff Deputies, Correctons Deputies, and Law Enforcement
Officials across the County in response to the increased attacks on law enforcement across the Country
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE FILE
Date: Acting Body: Action: Sent To:
09/29/2020 Council Criminal Justice and Public DISCUSSED
Safety Committee
09/29/2020 Council SUBSTITUTE APPROVED
Aye: 6 Browne, Buchanan, Donovan, Frazey, Elenbaas, and Kershner
Nay: 0
Absent: 0
emp Absent: 1 Byrd
Attachments: Original Proposed Resolution, Revised Proposed Resolution (9.25.2020), Substitute Resolution
Kershner/Browne 9.29.2020
Whatcom County Page t Printed on 913012020
1
2 PROPOSED BY: KERSHNER AND BROWNE
3 INTRODUCTION DATE: SEPTEMBER 29, 2020
4
5 RESOLUTION NO. 2020-037
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7 STATEMENT OF SUPPORT AND APPRECIATION OF THE WHATCOM COUNTY
8 SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, WHATCOM COUNTY SHERIFF DEPUTIES, WHATCOM
9 COUNTY CORRECTIONS DEPUTIES AND SUPPORT STAFF
10
11 WHEREAS, Whatcom County Sheriffs and Corrections Deputies along with their
12 essential support staff perform services that are vital to public safety and the administration
13 of justice; and
14
15 WHEREAS, Whatcom County Sheriff's Office Corrections Deputies are responsible
16 for the custody, security and safety of many potentially dangerous people and are exposed
17 to many inherent dangers. When trouble arises our Deputies willingly accept the
18 responsibility to run towards danger, rather than away; and
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20 WHEREAS, as a community we ask our Whatcom County Sheriff Deputies to be
21 prepared at every call to determine if they need to prevent, detect, and investigate criminal
22 activities or connect victims and others in need to social services, mental health, drug and
23 alcohol treatment options; and
24
25 WHEREAS, as of September 11, 2020, F.B.I. data reports thirty-seven law
26 enforcement officers have been reported feloniously killed in 2020, eight were victims of an
27 ambush (entrapment/premeditation), two were a victim of an unprovoked attack including
28 Police Officer Shoop of Bothell, Washington Police Department, July 13, 2020; and
29
30 WHEREAS, on September 19, 2020, the Ferndale Border Patrol Facility was
31 vandalized with violent messaging against Border Patrol Agents.
32
33 WHEREAS, on September 22, 2020, a fire at the home of a Washington State Patrol
34 trooper in the Everson -Nooksack area is being investigated as an arson; and
35
36 WHEREAS, for decades, governments across the nation have asked law
37 enforcement to provide front line intervention and assessment of cases of mental illness
38 while often being unwilling to provide the funds necessary to equip officers with the tools to
39 identify and respond to mental illness appropriately. Which has led to both citizens and
40 police calling for more money to be spent on alternative ways to respond to situations that
41 don't involve the use of law enforcement; and
42
43 WHEREAS, one of the causes some communities have been unsuccessful in reducing
44 racial injustice and overly aggressive responses by members of law enforcement who have
45 proven to be poorly suited to the job, is the lack proper funding to hire strong leadership
46 capable of change management, extensive screening and testing of new applicants,
47 adequate ongoing training, supervision and oversite; and
48
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WHEREAS, recognizing that alternative programs are not a new concept to our
community, that the Whatcom County government has for many years, worked with the
Whatcom County Sheriff Department, Whatcom County Jail Deputies and Staff, the
Whatcom County Courts and other agencies in de-escalation and other non-traditional law
enforcement techniques and justice options; and
WHEREAS, listed in "Alternatives" (attached) are some of the things our community
has already been funding for many years to promote racial justice, reduce incarceration and
recognize that many need mental health or substance abuse treatment rather than
incarceration. Yet we all acknowledge it is but a base from which further progress must and
will be made; and
WHEREAS, the community wants us to continue (a) reducing the number of
incidents involving the use of deadly force by funding our long-established, on -going
training of Sheriff and Corrections Deputies on force response and de-escalation; effective
techniques for intervening with those undergoing behavioral health crisis; and use of non-
lethal techniques and equipment, and (b) leveraging our Mental Health Deputy program;
Crisis Negotiation Team; Community policing through Neighborhood and Resident Deputy
programs etc.; and
WHEREAS, calls to cut local law enforcement funding in response to problems
experienced elsewhere in the country, if applied here, would negatively impact local law
enforcement's involvement in the existing alternative social and criminal justice programs
our community has been investing in for years; and
WHEREAS, calls to cut local law enforcement funding would by necessity result in
(a) delaying deployment of Sheriff Deputies body cameras, which hold both officers and
offenders, accountable to the objective reporting standards that only video can provide and
(b) reduce training, supervision and oversight; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Whatcom County Council supports and
appreciates our Sheriff's Deputies, our Corrections Deputies, the Whatcom County Courts
and their respective support staff, plus the many other local agencies who work alongside
them to keep the safety and health of all members of Whatcom County our top priority; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Whatcom County Council condemns these and all
acts of violence against Law Enforcement Officers; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Whatcom County Council supports and
appreciates the need to promote further racial and economic justice, that in doing so we
acknowledge both our historical failings and progress, and fully commit to continue to do
more in the future; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Whatcom County Council asks our community to
step forward, to promote racial justice by (a) continuing to provide financial support for (a)
our investment in a qualified and skilled law enforcement agency, (b) the Alternatives listed
along with the law enforcements ongoing participation in these programs; and
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Whatcom County Council is committed to ensuring
our County is a safe and welcoming place to live and visit, and believe there is more that
unites us as a community than divides us when it comes to public safety; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that Whatcom County Council asks all our community
members to continue to work with us to eliminate racial and economic injustice by being
vigilant in rejecting the (often unconscious) implicit bias that can exist in hiring, renting
accommodation, providing or purchasing goods and services, in education and other
opportunities.
DiPt"''iy day of September 2020.
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
45 C,0T IAOBucfianan,
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Dana 13%6 vi Ol�rk ofahe Council Council Chair
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APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Approved by Karen Frakes via email / LB
Civil Deputy Prosecutor
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Alternatives
PREVENTION PROGRAMS
Incarceration Reduction and Prevention Task Force
LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion)
GRACE (Ground -Level Response And Coordinated Engagement)
Gang Prevention Programs
Community Paramedic
Homeless Outreach Team
Youth Street Outreach Team
Neighborhood Policing/Sheriff
Opiate addiction Outreach & Engagement
School -based programs (mental health / drug prevention etc.)
Crisis Triage Facility
Crisis Prevention & Intervention Team (CPIT)
CIT Training for Law Enforcement
Intensive Case Management
COURT DIVERSION PROGRAMS
Teen Court
Drug Court
Family Treatment Court
Mental Health Court
RE-ENTRY PROGRAMS
Jail Re-entry program
Medications and community -based treatment following release
Interim Housing
Case Management
RECOVERY SUPPORT SERVICES
New 32 bed Mental Health facility (under construction)
Specialized Behavioral Health Unit in Probation
Juvenile Court Behavioral Health Services
Housing Support Services
24/7 Staffed/Structured Supporting Housing Programs
Semi-independent Housing Programs
PACT (Program for Assertive Community Treatment
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