Earlier this month, a Washington state trooper spotted a driver speeding on Interstate 90 at 111 miles per hour near Ellensburg. The trooper tried to stop the car, but the driver paid no heed. Current state laws prevent officers from pursuit, so the officer had no choice but to let him go. About an hour later, that same driver collided with a sedan on Interstate 82 near Sunnyside and killed two of the three children inside, ages 6 and 8. There are no words that can adequately express the grief or rage this tragedy invokes. Sadly, there is no replacing these lives that were needlessly lost.
Under current law in the state of Washington, speeding does not give law enforcement enough probable cause to start a pursuit. Washington state House Bill 1054 requires police to have probable cause that someone committed certain crimes before pursuing them. Since the driver, Keith A. Goings, was “only speeding”, the troopers could not engage in a pursuit – this is the dangerous result of a 2021 police reform package that passed through the Washington State Legislature. Proponents argued this police reform package would reduce the number of high-speed chases that could potentially endanger the public. I question since when has allowing criminals to run free in every aspect of our society increased safety? Indeed, if the package hadn’t passed, those two children would still be with us today.
This devastating incident is just one example of how dangerous it can be to coddle criminals over the public, and how important it is to have common-sense legislation that allows law enforcement to do their jobs and protect our communities. This spike in crime we’re experiencing isn’t just happening in Central Washington; it’s a widespread crisis that is a direct result of failed, soft-on-crime policies.
In major cities around the country, crime is on the rise and citizens are fed up. According to a Gallup poll taken at the beginning of 2023, seventy percent of American adults are dissatisfied with the nation’s efforts to reduce crime.
After the past few years of “defund the police” campaigns, remarkably Democrats in Congress are finally starting to understand the gravity of the situation and the impact their policies are having on communities across the country. This past week, the Senate passed a Republican-led resolution to overturn a dangerous Washington, D.C. crime bill. The proposed legislation sought to eliminate all mandatory minimum sentences, reduce maximum penalties for crimes including carjackings and robberies, and expanded the right to a jury trial for most misdemeanors. These measures would have helped no one other than criminals and, thankfully, have been overturned.
The nation is currently at a crossroads, we must decide whether it is more important to protect the victims of crime or its perpetrators. In Washington state, law enforcement was not supported in the case of Keith Goings, and it led to the death of two innocent children and injuries to others. It is of the utmost importance we prioritize law and order, especially in times of chaos. Ratifying the resolution against the new Washington, DC crime laws was a great first step, but we must do more to support law enforcement and hold criminals accountable in our own state so tragedies like this never happen again.
