On March 8, the Legislature passed Initiative 940 which changes the legal standard for when an officer is protected from criminal liability for the use of deadly force. Before I-940 passed, the Legislature passed HB 3003, a bill that would amend the initiative’s language once a referendum period passes and the law becomes effective. If a referendum is certified, then HB 3003 becomes null and void and I-940 would be sent to the ballot. This process is highly unusual; but many in the Legislature felt that it was the best way forward based on agreement between the members of the law enforcement community and the initiative’s proponents.
HB 3003 would amend the initiative language in the following ways:
- Provides a new objective test for officer 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.”
- Changes the 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 oportunity to injured persons at a scene controlled by law enforcement.
- De-escalation and mental health training. Requires that all law enforcement officers in the state must receive violence de-escalation training and mental health training.