Washington tribes disproportionately hire officers fired by other departments
Investigation finds tribal police departments hire fired officers at rates higher than their share of the state's law enforcement workforce
Tribal police departments in Washington hire officers fired by other law enforcement agencies at a rate disproportionately higher than their share of the state's policing workforce, according to an investigation by InvestigateWest and the Invisible Institute. The analysis found tribal police departments make up about 2.5% of Washington's law enforcement workforce but hired about 11% of fired officers who remained in law enforcement. The report attributes the trend to staffing shortages, hiring disadvantages and incomplete state misconduct records that can allow officers to move between agencies.
Washington's Criminal Justice Training Commission continues to face a backlog of more than 1,500 certification cases, allowing some officers accused of misconduct to remain certified while investigations continue, according to the InvestigateWest reporting The investigation also found many tribal departments struggle to recruit and retain officers because larger agencies often offer higher pay, benefits and retirement options.
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