KC Sheriff’s Office needs to modify use-of-force notifications, report says

Recommendations from the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight in a July report ask the King County Sheriff’s Office to modify practices in notifying families, media, and the public in regards to police use-of-force and in-custody incidents resulting in death and serious injury.

The Office of Law Enforcement Oversight’s report includes seven recommendations ranging from the setup of a family engagement team, to a data portal for use-of-force and in-custody incidents, to policy creation.

“This report aims to promote trauma-informed practices as well as greater transparency and consistency in the aftermath of critical incidents,” said Tamer Abouzeid, director of the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight. “Critical incidents are traumatic for everyone involved, and we have provided the Sheriff’s Office with multiple recommendations in keeping with our role as an independent agency tasked with representing the interests of the public.”

The Office of Law Enforcement Oversight sent the 46-page report of recommendations and analysis to the King County Sheriff’s Office in July.

“The King County Sheriff’s Office will continue to work with the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight, positively and proactively, as we review the recommendations and determine how best they fit the needs of our staff and the greater good of the community at large,” the King County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement provided to Sound Publishing.

Existing notification procedures involve the notification of a sheriff’s office supervisor immediately after a use-of-deadly-force incident, followed by the sheriff’s office contacting an independent investigation team like the Valley Independent Investigative Team and the independent investigative team assuming control of the incident scene.

According to the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight’s report, the sheriff’s office serves as involved in the notification of the public as of existing notification procedures: “It is their position to not be significantly involved in notifying the next of kin,” the report states.

The independent investigation team assigns a family liaison within 24 hours of taking control of the incident scene, with the liaison identifying, locating, and notifying next of kin of the incident.

Throughout the investigation, an independent investigative team representative provides once weekly public and media updates regarding the investigation, as per existing procedure, according to the report.

The seven recommendations for the sheriff’s office in the report include:

• The creation of a family engagement team within the sheriff’s office responsible for next of kin communication;

• The establishment of partnerships with community organizations to provide support to persons affected;

• Clarification of the role of family liaisons to next of kin, including the extent of confidentiality within the family-liaison relationship;

• Publication of the protocols of independent investigation teams online;

• Policy creation for media releases;

• Policy creation for video release of an incident;

• And the creation of a data portal for use-of-force and in-custody incidents.

“OLEO’s position is that when the Sheriff’s Office has the legal ability to communicate with the impacted next of kin, they have an obligation to do so,” the report states.

The report recommends law enforcement engaging with next of kin have non-law enforcement personnel accompany visits, for law enforcement to meet with next of kin in-person, to wear plain clothes and not uniforms, and to provide written materials and pamphlets to next of kin.

The reports recommendations for media releases following incidents asks the sheriff’s office to limit initial releases to verifiable fact without pre-judgment, exclude prior criminal history of the subject, release the names of deputies that discharged a firearm and employed force in an incident, and refrain from communicating approval nor condemnation of deputy actions. The report asks the sheriff’s office to publicly release available footage within 72 hours of an incident.

The King County Sheriff’s Office continues to review and assess the report’s recommendations.