Report shows drop in use of force among King County sheriff’s deputies

A report presented to the King County Council by the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) on Tuesday morning found that use of force by King County sheriff’s deputies dropped by 23% from 2020 to 2021.

There were 150 incidents in 2021, which is 45 fewer than the year before.

OLEO says that could be because 2020 and the social justice protests might have pointed a “microscope at policing practices.” It also says police reform laws that took effect last year might have played a role.

As for complaints from last year, about 29% of sworn officers — or more than 200 employees — received at least one complaint.

However, after OLEO investigated, more than three-quarters of those allegations were dismissed.

Of those complaints, there were 32 biased-based policing complaints, and OLEO found that none were sustained; but OLEO’s director says there may be a problem with how that bias is defined, and changes could be coming.

“The definition of biased-based policing, the way it’s worded, [it’s] almost impossible to prove,” said OLEO director Tamer Abouzeid. “We recommend changing it, and will be working with the sheriff’s office on that.”

One investigation that OLEO wrapped up last year looked into a 2019 incident where plainclothes deputies shot and killed a man in Black Diamond who had stolen a pickup truck and pet poodle.

A deputy was fired, and after the investigation, King County agreed to pay $2.5 million to the family of the man who was shot and killed.

Some recommended reforms involved limits on the use of plainclothes officers, and a focus on de-escalation methods.

OLEO says it’s hoping to develop the ability to break down all of the use of force and complaint data by neighborhood and race to keep furthering their work towards equity.

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