Letter to Kitsap County Law Enforcement Officials

 Unit 1134 Bremerton Branch  

P.O. Box 1204  

Bremerton, WA 98337 

Phone: 360-286-1788 

 Email: naacpbremerton@yahoo.com 

May 5, 2024 

Greetings Law Enforcement Officials, 

I am contacting you to discuss how our law enforcement agencies will address police  pursuits under Washington State Initiative 2113 (SI 2113). Recently, our State  Legislators voted to repeal the Washington State laws governing police pursuits. SI 2113  removed certain restrictions about vehicular pursuits. Under this Initiative, vehicular  pursuits would be allowed under certain conditions including a law enforcement officer’s  reasonable suspicion that a person has violated the law and poses a threat to the safety of  others. This undoubtedly will increase community-police contacts under less than  favorable conditions.  

Unfortunately, SI 2113 does not clearly define what constitutes reasonable suspicion or  posing a threat to the safety of others. This aspect of the Initiative has been left up to  interpretation by law enforcement agencies. Recognizing law enforcement’s crucial role in SI2113, NAACP Unit 1134 is requesting a meeting with the responsible representative  from your law enforcement agency to discuss how SI 2113 will be applied, when it will  be implemented, and how this information will be clearly shared with our community  members.  

We currently have a great community-police relationship. We want to ensure SI 2113 be implemented with consistent guidelines that will continue fostering better community policing relationships.  

Please let me know your availability to discuss this critical matter.  

I look forward to your response.  

Respectfully,  

Robert Harris  

President • NAACP Unit 1134 • Bremerton • president@naacpbremerton.org