(The Center Square) – In less than four months, officer-involved fatal shootings in 12 western Washington counties will no longer be investigated by law enforcement agencies.
The Washington State Office of Independent Investigations , or OII, will take over those investigations as of Dec. 1, replacing independent teams of local law enforcement agencies that have handled those cases to date.
The agency, created by state legislation in 2021, is led by Director Roger Rogoff, who was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee. Rogoff is a former prosecutor and Superior Court judge.
Steve Strachan is the executive director of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs. He told The Center Square WASPC did not oppose the creation of OII.
“We found some merit in ensuring that the public has full faith in investigations regarding law enforcement deadly use of force,” Strachan said.
He added, “The OII is not intended to replace, but complement Independent Investigate Teams.”
IIT’s consist of completely independent law enforcement agencies that investigate incidents where the use of deadly force by a peace officer results in death, substantial bodily harm, or great bodily harm.
Groups advocating for police accountability have argued that having police agencies investigate their own in fatal officer encounters offered no guarantee of fairness and unbiased policing.
That was the motivation for establishing the OII.
The first of six OII offices in the state will open Dec. 1, with investigators from the agency ready to respond to all law enforcement-involved deaths in Thurston, Lewis, Mason, Clark, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Jefferson, Kitsap, Skamania, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties.
“We don’t have the staffing to handle this statewide, but we know we have the team for region one,” said Hector Castro, director of communications and community relations at OII, who told The Center Square law enforcement investigative teams don’t go away with OII’s establishment.
“Fatal use of deadly force cases, that’s what we will handle,” said Castro. “Other use of force cases where there may be an injury or a shoot and a miss, the IIT will still be activated.”
Castro made clear the OII is a fact-finding agency, meaning it will not make a recommendation of potential charges following an investigation.
Strachan said WASPC is giving the new agency the benefit of the doubt.
“Something I’ve said to Rogoff and others is they absolutely need to call balls and strikes and as we progress into the next phases, and them being entirely objective and focusing on facts,” he said. “That’s where we are now.”At this point, the agency continues to hire and train investigators.Some have homicide experience, but many have no law enforcement experience, but will undergo background checks and polygraph tests, and all will attend the Law Enforcement Academy.The Center Square asked gubernatorial candidate and former King County Sheriff Dave Reichert about the new agency.Reichert was not nearly as optimistic.“This is another example of statewide government oversight that costs the taxpayers money and doesn’t really provide any additional safety or security to the people,” Reichert said.“I’ll tell you what it does is create more ambiguity around the duties and responsibilities of police officers, and I believe it will continue to inhibit our ability to hire officers here in the state,” he continued. “This is why we are 51st in the nation in our ability to hire officers.”He concluded, “They’re not coming to work here because they feel like they are not supported.”
