WA Lawmakers revisit bill that would prohibit police deception in interrogations
From left to right: Felix Luna of Peterson Wampold Rosato Feldman Luna, the civil attorneys whose investigation uncovered DNA match for 1995 rape case in which Ted Bradford was wrongly convicted; Ted Bradford, who was exonerated from the 1995 rape conviction; Jackie McMurtrie, founder of Innocence Project Northwest, the organization whose work led to Bradford's exoneration. A new bill being considered in Olympia aims to prevent deceptive interrogation practices like those that led to Bradford’s erroneous conviction.
AP FILE PHOTO/BUSINESS WIRE
OLYMPIA — Lawmakers in Olympia are revisiting a bill that would block law enforcement from lying during interrogations after a similar measure failed to advance to the Senate last session.
Victims of false confessions that resulted in wrongful convictions came to testify in support of Rep. Strom Peterson’s, D-Edmonds bill Monday, Jan. 27, at the Community Safety hearing.
“I did 10 years in prison for a crime I didn't do,” said Ted Bradfrod, Washington’s first exonerated person through DNA.
HB 1138 aims to improve public safety and increase trust between communities and law enforcement by developing and implementing rapport-based interrogation training. The bill seeks to replace the use of deceptive tactics, rendering statements obtained through intentional deception inadmissible in court.
This is Peterson’s second attempt to propose this bill, explaining that last year's efforts were hindered by time constraints and the inability to discuss its nuances fully.
“There was some pushback from a few of my colleagues in the Democratic Party, I think they mistakenly thought it was an anti-police measure,” he said.
Many law enforcement claim they are in favor of the additional training but are concerned with the poor and vague articulation of “deception,” especially in regard to withholding information.
Captain Jeff Sursely, spokesperson for the Moses Lake Police Department, said that without a clear definition of what deceptive interrogation is, law enforcement will be unable to decipher what they can or cannot do, leaving only an attorney to decide what it is in court.
The bill, as it currently states, defines deception as the “knowing communication of false facts about evidence.”
Deceptive tactics are often associated with the Reid method, developed in the 1960s. The Reid method is a three-step process beginning with fact analysis, behavioral interview analysis then interrogation. According to Reid and Associates, interrogation should only occur when investigators have reasonable certainty that a suspect is involved in a case, meaning its main objective is to elicit a confession.
“I'd say the Reid technique as an actual technique has pretty much been debunked,” said Sursely. “But it provided tools for an investigator's toolbox. Just like any training, there's effective portions of training and there're ineffective portions of training. And every training can provide you tools for your toolbox even if you don't subscribe to the entire program.”
Chris Foreman, Chief of Special Operations with the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office and vice president of Washington State Narcotics Investigators Association, believes it is foolish to try and recreate or change techniques that have been effective for decades.
He said law enforcement must have probable cause to arrest, and investigators need sufficient evidence in court to prove guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In some cases, investigators may resort to deception after exhausting all other options.
“Sometimes we have to lie to them, essentially fight fire with fire to get down to the truth,” said Chris Foreman.
Ted Bradford was a victim of false accusations that led to his wrongful conviction and testified before legislators regarding his situation. On April 1, 1996, he was taken into questioning for a rape and burglary case. He was placed in a what he described as a tiny room and interrogated for nine hours with no attorney and no food. The detectives on the case falsely claimed they had biological evidence pointing to him and said he could not leave until he confessed.
“I did the only thing I thought would get me out of that situation,” Bradford said, “I made a statement saying, ‘Okay, I committed this crime.’”
Bradford believed if he confessed, the DNA test would prove his innocence but there was no technology at the time to prevent the conviction.
According to a research study conducted by Saul Kassin from the City University of New York in 2010, the Reid interrogation method often employs accusatory claims and guilt-presumptive questioning, creating a high-pressure environment. Suspects may feel forced to confess in such situations, regardless of guilt, to get out of harsh circumstance, even at the cost of wrongful conviction.
According to the Washington Innocence Project database, about 23% of exonerations in Washington involve false confessions.
The PEACE technique — an acronym for preparation and planning; engage and explain; account, clarify and challenge; closure and evaluation — is the proposed rapport-based interview tactic, allowing suspects to tell their story uninterrupted before investigators can present inconsistency in stories or evidence.
Kyle Foreman, public information officer at the Grant County Sheriff's Office, shares that if enacted, law enforcement will certainly follow the state’s standard level of training.
“We want nothing more than to deliver justice to the victims and ensure the right person is behind bars,” Kyle Foreman said.