Gregoire orders probe after three officers killed
OLYMPIA - Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday announced a state probe of three ex-convicts who were implicated in the deaths of three Seattle-area law enforcement officers in recent months.
The governor, at a wide-ranging news conference, also reaffirmed her support for the death penalty, announced $404 million in business tax relief, and criticized a new Tim Eyman initiative that would make it harder to raise taxes and fees.
Gregoire said she has directed the Department of Corrections to study the three cases of inmates on post-release supervision who were accused of causing the deaths of three law enforcement officers since August.
King County Deputy Sheriff Steve Cox, a former prosecutor, was the latest victim early Saturday after a deadly encounter with Raymond O. Porter of Burien. Porter then was killed in a gun battle with police and Cox died about three hours after being rushed to the hospital.
Just last summer, Seattle police officer Joselito Barber was killed when a felon who was under state supervision smashed into his car.
Three weeks ago, Seattle police officer Beth Nowak was killed when a felon, also under state supervision, was driving a stolen car and smashed into her car.
And now comes the death of Deputy Cox.
But state supervision doesn't mean around-the-clock monitoring.
"We don't supervise these people 24/7 and that's a very important thing to remember," says Gary Larson of the Washington Department of Corrections. It means the offenders check in periodically and stay out of trouble.
In Raymond Porter's case, the department admits that he recently violated the terms of his supervision.
"He tested positive for drugs and actually self-reported on occasion that he had used drugs and alcohol," Larson said. "So we were working with him on that."
But instead of sending Porter back to jail, the department chose to order him into more drug and alcohol treatment.
"We were following a course with him that appeared to be working," Larson said. "He was getting into treatment, he was reporting to his community corrections officer, although admittedly not as well as he should have been."
Gregoire extended the state's sympathy to Cox's family and announced that the prison system will take a fresh look at all three cases to see what "course correction" is needed in the state's post-release supervision.
Gregoire, who once worked in a state probation and parole office, said "it is impossible to track someone 24-7," but the tragedies point out the need to rehabilitate felons during their prison stays, not merely house them. People with addictions shouldn't be dumped on the streets untreated, she said.
"We are not doing what we should do as a state," the governor said, adding later, "We need a course correction."
Many in law enforcement say toughening the supervision is long overdue.
"I think the governor and the Legislature need to take a look at this or you're going to have more dead cops," said King County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart.
The Department of Corrections already has developed a plan to reduce repeat crimes by many of the state's 9,000 inmates released from prison each year.
"For me, the true measure of public protection is what the individual does after release, because then the public becomes vulnerable," prison chief Harold Clarke said in an interview in September.
On other topics, Gregoire:
-Announced that businesses should save over $400 million on their tax bills next year. Unemployment insurance rates will drop by an average of 13 percent, saving over $58 million. Workers compensation rates will drop an average of about 2 percent, saving $31 million.
A six-month tax "holiday" during the second half of 2007 is expected to trim over $315 million from workers' compensation premiums, the governor said. Workers will save about half of the total, she said. Public hearings are planned later this month.
House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, and Senate Majority Whip Debbie Regala, D-Tacoma, said Washington is getting an increasingly good reputation as a place to do business, and that the tax breaks will bolster that.
-Reaffirmed her support for the death penalty, which is being reviewed by the state Supreme Court in a case involving serial killer Robert Yates Jr. Gregoire, who was attorney general when three death row inmates were executed, said she approves of the way prosecutors have used their discretion.
-Criticized a new Tim Eyman initiative that would make it more difficult to boost taxes and fees and require more attention to the long-term price tag. She said the Legislature has behaved responsibly and that voters have upheld recent tax hikes.
-Said Wal-Mart employees' heavy use of state-subsidized health care will touch off "a vibrant discussion" in the upcoming legislative session. She stopped short of endorsing a bill to require Wal-Mart and other big employees to help pay for the health care system.
The governor, at a wide-ranging news conference, also reaffirmed her support for the death penalty, announced $404 million in business tax relief, and criticized a new Tim Eyman initiative that would make it harder to raise taxes and fees.
Gregoire said she has directed the Department of Corrections to study the three cases of inmates on post-release supervision who were accused of causing the deaths of three law enforcement officers since August.
King County Deputy Sheriff Steve Cox, a former prosecutor, was the latest victim early Saturday after a deadly encounter with Raymond O. Porter of Burien. Porter then was killed in a gun battle with police and Cox died about three hours after being rushed to the hospital.
Just last summer, Seattle police officer Joselito Barber was killed when a felon who was under state supervision smashed into his car.
Three weeks ago, Seattle police officer Beth Nowak was killed when a felon, also under state supervision, was driving a stolen car and smashed into her car.
And now comes the death of Deputy Cox.
But state supervision doesn't mean around-the-clock monitoring.
"We don't supervise these people 24/7 and that's a very important thing to remember," says Gary Larson of the Washington Department of Corrections. It means the offenders check in periodically and stay out of trouble.
In Raymond Porter's case, the department admits that he recently violated the terms of his supervision.
"He tested positive for drugs and actually self-reported on occasion that he had used drugs and alcohol," Larson said. "So we were working with him on that."
But instead of sending Porter back to jail, the department chose to order him into more drug and alcohol treatment.
"We were following a course with him that appeared to be working," Larson said. "He was getting into treatment, he was reporting to his community corrections officer, although admittedly not as well as he should have been."
Gregoire extended the state's sympathy to Cox's family and announced that the prison system will take a fresh look at all three cases to see what "course correction" is needed in the state's post-release supervision.
Gregoire, who once worked in a state probation and parole office, said "it is impossible to track someone 24-7," but the tragedies point out the need to rehabilitate felons during their prison stays, not merely house them. People with addictions shouldn't be dumped on the streets untreated, she said.
"We are not doing what we should do as a state," the governor said, adding later, "We need a course correction."
Many in law enforcement say toughening the supervision is long overdue.
"I think the governor and the Legislature need to take a look at this or you're going to have more dead cops," said King County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart.
The Department of Corrections already has developed a plan to reduce repeat crimes by many of the state's 9,000 inmates released from prison each year.
"For me, the true measure of public protection is what the individual does after release, because then the public becomes vulnerable," prison chief Harold Clarke said in an interview in September.
On other topics, Gregoire:
-Announced that businesses should save over $400 million on their tax bills next year. Unemployment insurance rates will drop by an average of 13 percent, saving over $58 million. Workers compensation rates will drop an average of about 2 percent, saving $31 million.
A six-month tax "holiday" during the second half of 2007 is expected to trim over $315 million from workers' compensation premiums, the governor said. Workers will save about half of the total, she said. Public hearings are planned later this month.
House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam, and Senate Majority Whip Debbie Regala, D-Tacoma, said Washington is getting an increasingly good reputation as a place to do business, and that the tax breaks will bolster that.
-Reaffirmed her support for the death penalty, which is being reviewed by the state Supreme Court in a case involving serial killer Robert Yates Jr. Gregoire, who was attorney general when three death row inmates were executed, said she approves of the way prosecutors have used their discretion.
-Criticized a new Tim Eyman initiative that would make it more difficult to boost taxes and fees and require more attention to the long-term price tag. She said the Legislature has behaved responsibly and that voters have upheld recent tax hikes.
-Said Wal-Mart employees' heavy use of state-subsidized health care will touch off "a vibrant discussion" in the upcoming legislative session. She stopped short of endorsing a bill to require Wal-Mart and other big employees to help pay for the health care system.