Summary

In a letter released this morning, King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn harshly criticized a leaked draft proposal developed by the King County Department of Public Defense that would require all individuals to talk to an attorney before consenting to a search by a King County Sheriff’s deputy.

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In a letter released this morning, King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn harshly criticized a leaked draft proposal developed by the King County Department of Public Defense that would require all individuals to talk to an attorney before consenting to a search by a King County Sheriff’s deputy.  

The leaked proposal attached to Dunn’s letter (attached here) would require police to connect an individual to a defense attorney before they can agree to a simple consent to a search of their person, property, home, or vehicle. Consultation with an attorney could not be waived by the individual under this proposal and applies whether the person in question is being taken into custody or simply being interviewed.

In his letter, Dunn raises concerns that the real-world consequences of how this policy would dramatically impair law enforcement’s ability to investigate crime as they contact possible witnesses and perpetrators.

“If police are required to call a defense attorney every time they talk to a subject, criminal investigation would grind to a halt,” Dunn writes in the letter. “Our already strained Sheriff’s Office will be stretched thinner, impacting deputy availability and response time. This would take away hundreds of hours of deputy time where they are not responding to other calls . . . This will result in a delay in finding victims and evidence, including guns and deadly drugs, and allow leads to go stale. In the worst case, critical evidence will go undiscovered, victims may disappear, and suspects will get away. Either way, this will be a severe detriment to community safety and to lifesaving investigations.”

Dunn is not the only community leader flagging significant concerns for the leaked proposal. Former King County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and current Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell said, "Putting forward a detrimental policy like this in King County is another attempt to uproot our legal system and will further undermine community safety. This not only puts another obstacle in front of law enforcement officers but emboldens those who would take advantage of an already strained system.”

The leaked proposal comes at a time when the King County Sheriff’s Office has 100 unfilled deputy vacancies, and the County is seeing a rapid rise in crimes including property crime, shootings, and homicides. In addition, Dunn raises the concern that further restrictive policies on officer conduct could cause the loss of contracts King County holds with cities for police services and exacerbate the deputy vacancies.  

In closing, Dunn writes, “What I continually hear from my constituents is that they want police in their community; they want them to investigate crimes; and they want to be able to rely on a rapid response when they call 911. This policy fails on all fronts: it overreaches in protecting suspects; it does not consider the impact on victims and the community; and it ties the hands of law enforcement.” In his letter to the Public Defender, Dunn demands that the Public Defender explain “the need for this extreme policy.”