Bill addresses law enforcement officers’ mental health

MOSES LAKE — Law enforcement officers in Washington may receive more mental health support if a bill in this year’s state legislative session is signed into law.

House Bill 1000 would allow the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs to create pilot projects aimed to support law enforcement officers, according to the bill’s text. The projects would cover behavioral health improvement and suicide prevention.

Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber, R-Republic, is the primary sponsor of HB 1000. Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, and Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, are among the bills’ co-sponsors.

Maycumber said during a virtual legislative hearing Jan. 19 that HB 1000 would help law enforcement officers by offering an outlet for situations when they are having a difficult time.

“This is one of those policies that is difficult for everyone to talk about even (for) me as a former law enforcement officer,” Maycumber said during the hearing.

Kevin Fuhr, chief of the Moses Lake Police Department, said in an interview with the Herald he is “all on board” with legislation, such as HB 1000, that would address law enforcement officers’ mental health.

Last year, MLPD had a mental health checkup for every officer in the department, Fuhr said. A mental health professional spent two days with the officers to check on how they were doing.

“The bills that talk about helping make sure that our employees are in a good place mentally, which will make them better at performing their jobs, are good bills,” Fuhr said.

Law enforcement officers face stressful situations that may deal with fatalities or graphic incidents, Fuhr said. Officers should have a way to decompress and heal themselves.

“In my almost 30 years (of) doing this, when I was younger ... you go to these situations and just deal with it,” Fuhr said. “We can’t do that anymore.”

Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, said in an interview with the Herald it is important to address the mental health of law enforcement officers because it is a highly stressful job.

“If we can help those folks cope with this, I think it’s worthy,” Schmick said. “I think this bill is worthy to be passed.”

Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones said in an interview with the Herald he supports HB 1000. He said anything that can assist officers dealing with crises is a great thing.

“We deal with people in crisis every day and are expected to go home and be normal,” Jones said.

Law enforcement officers deal with a lot of critical incidents, Jones said, which can take a toll mentally and physically. Having an avenue to deal with overwhelming situations is beneficial.

“Stress management debriefs and being able to talk to somebody … is a huge benefit for these deputies that are experiencing these incidents,” Jones said.

Representatives had not voted on HB 1000 as of Wednesday.