Those Serving Us Should be Protected from Harassment, Threats

Words are powerful. All of us should remember that what we say, good or bad, has consequences. Unfortunately, a person can verbally threaten our criminal justice and corrections staff in the course of doing their jobs and never suffer any consequences. My legislation, House Bill 1206, which was requested by local prosecutors, would change that.

When we think of our hard-working law enforcement, prosecutors, corrections staff and others who protect us, we must remain focused on how dangerous their jobs can be. Often times, a police officer walks into a situation where the person he or she has to arrest or detain is extremely unhappy with the circumstance. He or she may be verbally aggressive, intoxicated and making threats of physical harm to law enforcement and their families. It is part of the job, but that doesn’t mean we should turn a blind eye to the reality that some of the threats may actually be grave warnings.

How can we distinguish which threats are serious and which are not? Should we wait until a threat is acted on before we protect those we call to protect us? I, and my criminal justice community, believe we should be proactive and act now. The public hearing on my proposal illustrated why the Legislature should not wait until something terrible happens to take action.

During the public hearing on House Bill 1206, Kennewick Detective Mary Buchan told a chilling story of a person she was asked to pick up from a local hospital. The fellow had been arrested for driving under the influence and was in the hospital for treatment. He was belligerent and pulling out his intravenous equipment and demanding he be let out of the hospital and instead taken to jail. Honoring that request, Detective Buchan was called to the scene by medical staff. What happened next that night forever changed her life.

As she helped the patient get ready to go, he threatened her and made vulgar sexual gestures. He told her he would find her and rape her, and she would like it. During her testimony in support of my bill, she described how frightened she was by what the man said. And, considering his criminal record, she feared he may act on his threats. He scared her to the point that she felt she had to fortify her house and was worried daily he would make good on his threats to do her harm. Now pregnant, that fear is no longer just about her safety. Just because she was doing her job, she was harassed and forced to live in fear.

If judges or jurors are threatened or harassed for doing their jobs, the perpetrator can be charged with a Class C felony. My bill simply adds criminal justice and corrections staff, including law enforcement, prosecutors and defense attorneys, to the list of those who are protected from harassment in the line of duty. I believe this is the right thing to do. People working with dangerous individuals need to know they are protected and action can be taken if a credible threat is made against them while working.

Some object to the proposal because of the notion that criminal justice personnel might abuse the provisions in the law. However, I trust that those who have taken the oath to defend the life and liberty of people in their communities would never actively engage in taking rights away from those they are attempting to help.

The brave men and women serving our communities and protecting us from harm also need to be protected from threats and harassment while in the course of doing the difficult work we ask of them.

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Rep. Cathy Dahlquist is serving her first term as a state representative in the 31st Legislative District. She is the assistant ranking Republican on the House Education Appropriations and Oversight Committee. She was also appointed to serve on the House Education, Rules and Technology, Energy & Communications committees.