A bill that seeks to establish parameters for volunteers acting on behalf of a local sheriff’s office had a public hearing at the Washington State Legislature on Monday.

The legislation comes two months after InvestigateWest profiled Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer and his posse of over 100 volunteers who assist with anything from administrative tasks to controversial cougar hunts.

Sheriff’s volunteers, sometimes called specially commissioned officers or posse members, often assist law enforcement agencies with security at community events, traffic control, and search and rescue operations. But in some areas, the volunteer role in law enforcement activities has grown, raising concerns around training, liability and accountability.

The bill, House Bill 1399, would not allow volunteers to assist in law enforcement actions, including the “carrying of firearms or other weapons, the detention and arrest of others, and the use of force and deadly force,” unless the person has completed peace officer training and certification requirements, according to the bill. While the bill doesn’t specifically define what would fall under “law enforcement activities,” it would require agencies to include policies that lay out permissible roles.

The bill will be voted on by lawmakers in the House Committee on Community Safety on Feb. 6. If approved, it will move either to another House committee or to the entire House chamber.

Thirty-two people signed up to testify on the bill, most of whom supported the legislation. A similar bill, Senate Bill 5364, was also introduced in the Senate.

“Our sheriff’s office has more than 150 volunteers who are regularly put in situations where they are expected to exercise police power,” said Michelle Nijhuis, a longtime resident of Klickitat County.

“This large core of volunteers, while it’s intended to increase public safety, the wide variety of training and experience levels has in fact created more fear and distrust of local law enforcement within our communities, and it’s undermined law enforcement’s ability to protect us,” she added.

Songer is part of the “constitutional sheriff” movement and asserts that he and other sheriffs have the authority to decide which state or federal laws to enforce.

James McMahon, policy director with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, spoke in opposition to the bill during the public testimony and requested that the bill sponsor remove the section that relates to volunteers, stating that including them in the bill will have “public safety consequences.”

“We adamantly oppose the provisions of this bill, and we ask that you do as well,” he told lawmakers.

Candice Bock, representing the Association of Washington Cities, was neutral on the bill but said that she hopes it would still allow volunteers to participate in programs such as parking enforcement and traffic control because those are “cost savers” for local governments.

Rep. Roger Goodman, a Kirkland Democrat who sponsored the bill and is also chair of the House Committee on Community Safety, said the bill would only limit volunteers from enforcing criminal laws, which would prohibit volunteers from detaining, arresting and using force.

He recognized that more work needs to be done on the bill to better define what would be allowable under the law.

Other sheriff’s posses in the state include the Benton Franklin Sheriff Posse, where volunteers participate in training and meetings; the Mounted Posse Unit in Grand County, where posse members must be at least 21, have a valid driver’s license, and own a horse; and the Asotin County Sheriff’s Posse, where members largely assist in search and rescue and do outreach related to outdoor safety.

Immigration enforcement and wildlife management concerns

Malou Chávez, the executive director of the statewide legal services organization Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, testified in support of the bill, specifically the aspect that states that sheriffs must abide by and enforce state law.

“Many in our communities fear that they may not be protected during calls for help, and there’s a very real fear that some in state and local law enforcement will work with federal immigration enforcement agents despite our state’s constitutional protections,” she said.

Despite the Keep Washington Working Act, a state law that bars local law enforcement from participating in federal immigration enforcement efforts, some sheriffs across the state have already vowed to collaborate with ICE efforts to carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation plans. Songer posted a video on Facebook on Dec. 11 telling federal ICE officials to “put me on speed dial.”

“That is why it is also important that this bill will update the duties of sheriffs to make clear their duty to enforce our state’s laws and constitution,” Chávez said. “Enhancing the standards of professionalism and updating these laws will help build that trust with immigrant communities, especially in these times.”

Pat Arnold, executive director of Friends of the White Salmon River, an environmental organization based in Klickitat County, echoed Nijhuis’ concerns.

“Posse members with handguns and handcuffs at their belts at public meetings and events are scary,” she told lawmakers. “We also fear that posse members will be involved in immigration actions in our county, and uncertified volunteers should not conduct hound pursuits, which are frequent in Klickitat County.”

Eligibility requirements for law enforcement leaders

In addition to putting parameters around law enforcement volunteers, the bill also seeks to standardize expectations around eligibility and background checks for law enforcement leaders.

The bill, if passed into law, will ensure that all law enforcement officers in the state, no matter their rank, meet the same basic eligibility requirements such as having a high school diploma, being a certain minimum age, passing a background check, and being clear of serious misconduct, felonies, or convictions relating to dishonesty, fraud, or corruption.

McMahon, with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, expressed concerns about the constitutionality of requiring a sheriff to pass a background check before being placed on an election ballot and the process for filling a vacancy if a sheriff is decertified and removed from office.

As written, the bill would require the local government to appoint a replacement instead of going through an election.

The bill also seeks to require that all leaders of law enforcement agencies who are not already certified when they assume leadership, whether they were promoted, appointed or elected, pass a state background check similar to what is required of a police officer.

The training requirements would affect members of local law enforcement agencies, as well as Washington State Patrol and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers who have enforcement powers for criminal laws, according to the bill.

Jeff DeVere, a lobbyist for the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs, said the members of the organization he represents support the eligibility requirements outlined in the bill.

“Nothing’s worse than having the boss not held (to) the same account as officers,” he said.

He also expressed support for increasing the number of years of law enforcement experience needed to take a leadership role from two years to five years.

“You’re leading a group of people doing a very tough job where many of their decisions come down to life and death on a daily basis,” he said. “If you’re going to lead a group like that, you need to have trust, you need to have respect, and you need to have the experience.”

InvestigateWest is an independent news nonprofit dedicated to investigative journalism in the Pacific Northwest. Reach reporter Moe K. Clark at [email protected].

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News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/02/washington-state-bill-sheriff-posse/