205 W 5th Ave Ellensburg, WA 98926-2887
Monday - Friday 8 AM - 5 PM
Kittitas (pronounced 'KITT-i-tass') County is located in central Washington State. It spans from the lush forested Cascade Mountains to the upper Yakima River Valley plains and the Columbia River.
Kittitas County, WA - 12/07/2020 - The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office and Ellensburg Police Department recently conducted the state's new Patrol Tactics course
The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office and the Ellensburg Police Department recently conducted the first local sessions of a new course on Patrol Tactics and principles of de-escalation. The course was designed by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission in response to the Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act (LETCSA), passed by voters as Initiative 940 in 2019. LETCSA requires that all certified Peace Officers in Washington—Police Officers, Deputies, and other sworn Law Enforcement—undergo 24 hours of training in tactics designed to reduce the risk that a Law Enforcement incident will escalate to require the use of force. All officers are mandated to complete the training before 2028 and must recertify every three years. Patrol Tactics training includes methods to de-escalate crisis situations whenever possible. Along with techniques for recognizing and intervening in crisis events, Peace Officers take a problem-solving approach to the use of physical distance and cover; communication techniques; management of the pace of interactions; and safe application of lifesaving first aid. Instructors from EPD and KCSO completed ‘train the trainer’ classes earlier this year to learn how to deliver the state-designed curriculum to local law enforcement; but COVID-19 put all in-person classes on hold, and most of this curriculum is not suited to remote learning. KCSO and EPD’s classes were developed to deliver the training with accommodations for infection control and legal compliance, and are the first classes to certify local officers in this part of the state. Sheriff Myers commented on the implementation of this training: “I support this program and I’m glad we’ve put ourselves in a position to provide this training in-house and with state-certified instructors. I’m also glad that most the recommendations that came out of LETCSA were already being done at the Sheriff’s Office. We know de-escalation is an essential Law Enforcement skill and encourage all Peace Officers to continue to gain the knowledge, skills and abilities that enhance public safety.”
Kittitas County, from the Cascades to the Columbia, and online at http://www.co.kittitas.wa.us
###
Contact: Chris Whitsett509-962-7525christopher.whitsett@co.kittitas.wa.us