On March 8, the Legislature passed Initiative 940 (I-940) which changes the standard for when a law enforcement officer is protected from criminal liability for their use of deadly force. However, the Legislature first passed HB 3003, a bill that attempts to amend the language from I-940 once it becomes effective law. The language of I-940 is set to become effective on June 7 while the language of HB 3003 is set to become effective on June 8.

This process is unusual and, during floor debates, some legislators questioned whether the process was legal. A lawsuit was promptly filed on Monday, March 12, alleging that the process the Legislature used was unconstitutional and that the process set forth for dealing with initiatives was circumvented. The suit states that both HB 3003 and I-940 should go to the voters.

If HB 3003 does become law, it would amend the initiative language in the following ways:

• Provides a new test for use of deadly force. HB 3003 provides a new test, stating that a law enforcement officer shall not be held criminally liable for using deadly force in good faith. Good faith is defined as “an objective standard which shall consider all the facts, circumstances, and information known to the officer at the time to determine whether a similarly situated reasonable officer would have believed that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent death or serious physical harm to the officer or another individual.”
• Creates a duty to render first aid. States that all law enforcement personnel must provide or facilitate first aid such that it is rendered at the earliest safe opportunity to injured persons at a scene controlled by law enforcement.
• Requires new training. Requires that all law enforcement officers in the state must receive violence de-escalation training and mental health training.

AWC will continue to track and provide updates on this issue.