Thurston Co. to stop writing reports of non-injury accidents
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TUMWATER, Wash. -- The Thurston County sheriff is ordering his deputies to skip writing collision reports in non-injury accidents, even if that goes against state law.
The sheriff says until they get more deputies, they can't take the time to fill out reports when no one is injured and a crime hasn't been committed.
Collisions with injuries or where a crime, such as DUI, have been committed will get a full investigation by deputies. That won't change as the Washington State Patrol hands over crash investigations on county roads to the Thurston County Sheriff's Office. But where you won't be seeing deputies hanging around writing reports are for the small scale non-injury collisions.
Those with wrecked cars may not like it, and have a state law on their side. Revised code of Washington 46.52.070 requires any officers "present at the scene of any accident or in possession of any facts concerning any accident whether by way of official investigation or otherwise shall make a report."
Does this mean the Thurston County sheriff is asking his deputies to break the law by not writing a report?
"Right now, I don't perceive that we are breaking the law," said Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza. "I perceive that we are interpreting the law and that we're making decisions based on public safety and the needs of Thurston County."
Snaza says the reason for pulling back from minor traffic accidents is to give deputies more time to deal with major crimes such as murders, domestic violence, and robberies -- crimes that demand immediate attention.
"I can't stress that enough is that I'm committed to the citizens to ensure that public safety throughout this county and that's what our job is about," Snaza said.
But when it comes down to those small accidents, residents worry they won't have that accident report to help with deciding who's to blame.
"Without the police report, the customer can't figure out who's going to fix the car," said Kevin Harris with Black Lake Towing & Collision.
The sheriff's deputies will respond to all collisions to make sure everybody's OK and the road is safe, but for minor accidents, until the sheriff gets more deputies, they'll keep their report pads in their pockets.
The sheriff says until they get more deputies, they can't take the time to fill out reports when no one is injured and a crime hasn't been committed.
Collisions with injuries or where a crime, such as DUI, have been committed will get a full investigation by deputies. That won't change as the Washington State Patrol hands over crash investigations on county roads to the Thurston County Sheriff's Office. But where you won't be seeing deputies hanging around writing reports are for the small scale non-injury collisions.
Those with wrecked cars may not like it, and have a state law on their side. Revised code of Washington 46.52.070 requires any officers "present at the scene of any accident or in possession of any facts concerning any accident whether by way of official investigation or otherwise shall make a report."
Does this mean the Thurston County sheriff is asking his deputies to break the law by not writing a report?
"Right now, I don't perceive that we are breaking the law," said Thurston County Sheriff John Snaza. "I perceive that we are interpreting the law and that we're making decisions based on public safety and the needs of Thurston County."
Snaza says the reason for pulling back from minor traffic accidents is to give deputies more time to deal with major crimes such as murders, domestic violence, and robberies -- crimes that demand immediate attention.
"I can't stress that enough is that I'm committed to the citizens to ensure that public safety throughout this county and that's what our job is about," Snaza said.
But when it comes down to those small accidents, residents worry they won't have that accident report to help with deciding who's to blame.
"Without the police report, the customer can't figure out who's going to fix the car," said Kevin Harris with Black Lake Towing & Collision.
The sheriff's deputies will respond to all collisions to make sure everybody's OK and the road is safe, but for minor accidents, until the sheriff gets more deputies, they'll keep their report pads in their pockets.
Seems a lot more people will have hurt necks or other parts of their bodies so they can get a report.
So I suppose they will NOT be issuing citations either? Somehow I think they will find time for that...
Traffic citations are revenue generators. Citations still get top priority.
You are required to file an accident report if damages exceed $500 according to state law. You can file it yourself if necessary.
I do agree, however, that without the officer's assignation of fault, and a citation issued, there will be much more fighting in court over damages, which means insurance goes up.
@mhungry Â
You are correct, drivers can fill out a report themselves. A traffic collision without an actual crime is a civil issue, period. The collision reports that Police fill out are no more then an insurance report, some district and municipal courts will not even find them admissible in a court hearing.
Usually police respond to collisions after they happen, the officers piece together what happened, assign blame, and write tickets...most of the time. If a ticket is written, then there is always a chance that officers will get subpoena'd to court, and have to state that they did not witness the accident, but the totality of the circumstances shows who was at fault. Being these are a civil hearing, that can be enough to throw the tickets out, which wastes everyone's time.
Also if the Police do not investigate, there will be no tickets or collisions hindering any driver's driving record.
This is really not a big deal.
Laws only apply for the little people.
Wonder if we can borrow some of the Koch Brothers or Romney security staff to police our Towns??? They have all the money now, and pay next to nothing in taxes. Or maybe Facebook has some security guards. They made 1.1 BILLION in profit this year, and will pay... nothing. They will get a 429 MILLION dollar tax return. Â Maybe we can get some of the thousands of Iraqi police officers we paid to train and hire???!!! Â Â The average american is getting screwed because of certain media outlets that have convinced them that AMerica is broke. We're not. We're not. We've just gamed the system since the Gingrich 80s and Bush era, so that we're footing the bill for billionaires. Â
@DTÂ Â
...what?
@DT
DT - I feel your pain, as a past president once said. And I don't discount your angst. I feel that too. But the fact that many conglomerated corporations end up not paying much in taxes is not because they are doing anything illegal. They are simply dealing with the tax code as it exists. They make decisions that will reduce their tax liabilities, just as you and I do. That GE paid little or no U.S. taxes from 2006 to 2010 is a result of decisions they made to reduce their taxes. They did nothing wrong. Congress writes the tax laws (and the budget), so if GE paid little in taxes, it is because of tax laws that Congress wrote over the years to provide GE that ability to avoid taxes. I agree with your intrinsic meaning, but the blame cannot be placed on a person or a corporation, but rather on the tax laws as they are written by the U.S. Congress. Your most important vote, federally, is for your congressional representatives, not for who will be president.
@DT Ah, the lunatic ramblings of a liberal...
Practically everything you said is not true.
love how every state agency is using "cuts"Â and low staffing to avoid doing their jobs. pathetic.
@SwampThing
Nationwide, bureaucrats are issuing "cuts" to save their jobs, not to save services.
Can I interpret laws as I feel fit also?
The sheriff is an idiot.Â
If it is state law, he is not allowed to mess with it - many have tried, and failed - so there will be lawsuits against his dept., which will burn his budget even more. Then, the state will have its way with him, and he will have to go back to doing the reports anyways.
This smacks of a political snit fit.
So what does our insurance companies say about this?
@32jim2Â They probably don't care. Less claims they have to pay if both sides can deny coverage because nobody can prove fault.Â
This is a prefect scenario, let us correspondingly reduce the staff at the Thurston County Sheriffs department, and save a ton of taxpayers money. I can only Hope for WSP, and WSDOT next...
@Tolly371 The state constitution mandates certain levels of police and fire services for municipalities. The Tea Party doesn't get to gut that.Â
The tea party bogeyman has nothing to do with this. Our democrat-controlled U.S. Senate has refused to even vote on a budget for four years.
@Citizen#3457899654Â @Tolly371Â As much as they would like to gut any constitution.
The Sheriff's department is right. In cases where there is only mutual damage to private property it is a civil issue, not a criminal one, and it's up to both parties to resolve it. Insurance companies will take statements and decide on liability. Disputes go to arbitration between insurance companies.Â
Using the police to resolve petty civil disputes over property damage is a poor use of public money and time.
@Bellevue Scott
But your insurance company requires a police report.
@marsneedswomen @Bellevue Scott Not necessarily, you can call and get incident number which is not a report,  Some insurance companies only want a record that you did call law enforcement, that was all USAA wanted from me when I was in a collision.
Bad idea.
Insurance rates will go up too. Due to increased administrative costs....
Good luck to anyone who gets in an accident in Thurston County. Â Thurston County residents will read this and drop their insurance next. Â Who cares if their insured? Â Nobody will ever know who's at fault, anyway, in Thurston County. Â What a stupid decision by the sheriff. Â If I were in an accident in Thurston County & they refused to write a report, I'd call back to 911 to speak to an operator, so that it could be recorded and on record when I take the Sherrif's behind to court for not following through on his responsibilities & failing to perform civic duties!
@my2cents It happens more than you think but in different counties.Â
"The sheriff says until they get more deputies, they can't take the time to fill out reports when no one is injured and a crime hasn't been committed."...what is the level of crime they are speaking of? I have been in two accidents in my life and one time I was in Seattle and when I contacted the police they asked if anyone was injured and I said no, they said they would not respond and to exchange information. I took his DL info and insurance as he presented it...both were bogus!...but fortunately for me I took down the license information of the car and took a cell phone pic of the driver, because I was able to track him down through that information. To me this seems like a dis-service to who they are paid to "serve and protect"...because they must be busier doing more importance police work?
@aintno1special No cop has ever come out when I reported a car rear ended me on I-405. I called, they said basically the same thing but this was a kid and his daddy took care of the damage to my car out of pocket. He wanted to keep the insurance companies out of it. No skin off my butt if this happens in King or Thurston co.Â
they told me a trooper would be there in about two hours when i needed a trooper from a table falling off a truck the freeway and hitting my car and the guy kept going. and that was 10 years ago.
@aintno1specialÂ
The easy way around this would be to claim "neck pain:" or "back pain" from the impact. It's an injury - viola, the sherriff will then be required to respond.
@LocalLady @aintno1special So essentially your insinuating lying. Not to state the obvious, but lying is the exact reason we distrust the police, government, our next door neighbors, family members, and spouses. Its good to stand on the moral high ground at all times. Just saying.Â
@LocalLady @aintno1special Keep in mind, no police report it does not go on your DOL history....Police report, wreck on file :)
You beat me to it.
@aintno1special I agree. I trust NOBODY when it comes to accidents. I've always had the police show up with pen and paper in hand. While I do understand not having man power, I think then the state must find a way to have another department show up perhaps. After all state law is the law, regardless of how the sheriff decides to interpret the law.Â