Everyone deserves to feel safe in their community. I will always fight back against any efforts to defund the police. We need to give our officers the tools and training they need, so they can enforce the laws and keep our communities safe – and also have the appropriate oversight and accountability.
Here are some ways that I have worked to support law enforcement in Washington’s Eighth District:
- I participated in 7 ride-alongs and officer roundtables with local law enforcement across the district to hear firsthand from officers about the tools they need to keep our communities safe.
- I introduced amendments in Congress to give local departments ways to improve safety and build trust: broad adoption of body-worn cameras and using expertise from mental health professionals where appropriate.
- In order to secure these resources to fund these initiatives, I co-sponsored and helped Congress pass the Invest to Protect Act, a bipartisan bill that would bring resources and training to departments with fewer than 200 officers.
- I am working to secure $2 million in federal funding to bring body cameras and crisis response teams to the King County Sheriff’s Office, to protect officers and the community.
- I sponsored the COPS on the Beat Grant Program Reauthorization and Parity Act that would triple funding for COPS grants, and the PART Act to address catalytic converter thefts.
- I voted to increase law enforcement and public safety funding by $500 million for 2022.
