Easier standards recommended for prosecuting officers who improperly use deadly force

Prosecutors didn't file charges when a police officer killed John T. Williams in August 2010 after giving him 4 seconds to drop a knife. That's because Washington law requires an almost impossible standard: proof of malice and a lack of good faith.

Today a task force of law enforcement, lawmakers and citizens gathered to make a recommendation on removing the malice and good faith requirements.

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Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin testified as a citizen and the son of a Florida police officer.

“Removing malice from the statute -- senators you ask, 'What does it do for the community?' It sends a very clear message to the community that law enforcement agencies are understanding the gravity of the decisions that they make and they hold themselves to the seriousness of the standards in which they hold themselves,” Baldwin said.

Baldwin has been meeting with local police chiefs after a series of police shootings around the country this year.

When the discussion began, Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe said he supported Baldwin's call to remove the malice requirement.

‘I almost felt like Doug Baldwin completed his second pass in two days here today,” Roe said, referring to a successful trick play Baldwin made during Sunday’s Seahawks game.

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Roe wants to remove the malice requirement from state law but supports a more narrowly defined good faith standard to protect officers who are acting honestly.

But police officers on the task force fought to keep the malice standard.

“For me to be able to use deadly force, it has to be I have to be in imminent jeopardy, correct? Do I have do know that gun is loaded? Does that gun have to be pointed at me? How long does it take for somebody to draw a handgun and point it at somebody and shoot? Where is 'imminent' there?” said Sgt. Rich Phillips, of the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs.

The recommendation passed 14-10 with law enforcement members of the task force voting against it.

Lawmakers will decide whether to adopt the recommendation when they convene in January. Supporters of the idea are still gathering signatures on an initiative that may appear before voters next year, if lawmakers fail to act.

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