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Washington Create Floyd's Law and Review Panel for Police Oversight Initiative (2021)
| Create Floyd's Law and Review Panel for Police Oversight Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 2, 2021 | |
| Topic Law enforcement | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Washington Create Floyd's Law and Review Panel for Police Oversight Initiative (#1118) was not on the ballot in Washington as an Initiative to the Legislature, a type of indirect initiated state statute, on November 2, 2021.
This initiative would have created Floyd's Law. The measure would have encouraged civilians to record police interactions and intervene if the civilians feel that excessive force is being used. The measure would have created the Floyd's Law Review Panel to review recordings of interactions with police.[1][2]
Text of measure
Full text
The full text of the initiative is available here.
Background
Death of George Floyd, 2020
On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officers arrested George Floyd, a Black man, after receiving a call that he had made a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill.[3] Floyd died after one officer, Derek Chauvin, arrived at the scene and pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck as Floyd laid face-down on the street in handcuffs.[4] Both the Hennepin County Medical Examiner and an independent autopsy conducted by Floyd's family ruled Floyd's death as a homicide stemming from the incident.[5] The medical examiner's report, prepared by Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, said that it was "not a legal determination of culpability or intent, and should not be used to usurp the judicial process."[5]
In the weeks after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020, nationwide events were held calling for changes to policing. Officials responded by issuing executive orders and passing legislation to eliminate certain policing tactics, such as chokeholds, and implement new community policing strategies.[6][7]
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Washington, the number of signatures required to qualify an indirectly initiated state statute—called an Initiative to the Legislature in Washington—for the ballot is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast for the office of governor at the last regular gubernatorial election. Initial filings for indirect initiatives cannot be made more than 10 months before the regular session at which their proposal would be presented to lawmakers. Signatures must be submitted at least 10 days prior to the beginning of the legislative session in the year of the targeted election.
The requirements to get an Initiative to the Legislature certified for the 2021 ballot:
- Signatures: 259,622 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: December 31, 2020
The secretary of state verifies the signatures using a random sample method. If the sample indicates that the measure has sufficient signatures, the measure is certified to appear before the legislature. If the legislature does not approve the measure, it is certified to appear on the ballot. However, if the sample indicates that the measure has insufficient signatures, every signature is checked. Under Washington law, a random sample result may not invalidate a petition.
Details about this initiative
- Demond Johnson and Camie Velin submitted the initiative on June 24, 2020.[2]
- Sponsors did not submit signatures by the deadline.[8]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Initiative #1118 Text," accessed July 20, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Washington Secretary of State, "Proposed Initiatives to the 2021 Legislature," accessed July 20, 2020
- ↑ Washington Post, "The death of George Floyd: What video and other records show about his final minutes," May 30, 2020
- ↑ The New York Times, "8 Minutes and 46 Seconds: How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody," May 31, 2020
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 USA Today, "Medical examiner and family-commissioned autopsy agree: George Floyd's death was a homicide," June 1, 2020
- ↑ WhiteHouse.gov, "Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities," June 16, 2020
- ↑ King5.com, "Seattle council bans police use of chokeholds and crowd control weapons," June 15, 2020
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, telephone communication with the Washington Secretary of State's office, January 1, 2021.
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State of Washington Olympia (capital) |
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