Office of Governor Gary Locke
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 8, 1997
Contact:  Governor's Communications Office, 360-902-4136

Locke calls special session for safety of public, law enforcement

OLYMPIA - Gov. Gary Locke today issued a proclamation officially calling the Legislature into special session on Sept. 17 at 3:30 p.m. for the sole purpose of enacting legislation that would allow law enforcement officers to continue the long-standing practice of checking for outstanding warrants in the course of traffic stops.

In the case of a jay walking pedestrian who had an outstanding warrant for his arrest, the state Supreme Court ruled on Aug. 28 that state law did not explicitly authorize law enforcement officers to conduct such a check on him while verifying his identification.

The special session was called following discussions with legislative leaders, who have agreed to limit the scope of the session to this single issue. The new law would specifically authorize officers to check for warrants on people detained for a civil traffic infraction. Legislative leaders also agreed to complete work on the legislation within a single day. Lawmakers were previously scheduled to be in Olympia from Sept. 17 until the 19th for committee meetings.

Locke said all participants agreed there is some urgency to resolving the problems created by the court's ruling and to clarify the circumstances under which officers may check for warrants. "Law enforcement officers need to know who they are dealing with when making a traffic stop," he said. "To stop a murderer for jay walking or some other minor offense, and then to unwittingly let him go simply because we couldn't check for outstanding warrants, puts both the public and law enforcement officers at risk.

"I know of a case in another state in which a law enforcement officer did not know the person he stopped for a traffic infraction was wanted for the execution-style murder of a police officer," Locke added. "That lack of knowledge cost the officer his life, and I don't want to see that happen to any officer in our state."

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