Legislature springs to action after our investigation into DOC problems
OLYMPIA -- Thursday night, a whistleblower told KOMO 4 News' Liz Rocca that the Corrections Department is to blame for the deaths of three local police officers.
Now, less than 24 hours after a whistleblower's accusations about lax supervision of offenders by the Department of Corrections, state Republican lawmakers want action. They want Secretary Harold Clarke to explain what's wrong at Department of Corrections.
"We do have immediate concerns that need to be addressed with tough language," said Rep. Doug Eriksen.
"The heat is on the department," added Rep. Kirk Pearson. "And we expect the best and we want to the citizens of the state to know that we're looking out for their best interest."
Our whistleblower, a long-time Department employee, insists failures by DOC led to the deaths of three local police officers. Seattle officers Beth Nowak and Joselito Barber were killed in car wrecks. King County Deputy Steve Cox was shot by a felon on probation.
"They died for nothing," our whistleblower said. "My department could have done more."
Last December Joan Cox's son, King County Deputy Steve Cox, was gunned down by Raymond Porter, who is a known gang member and drug dealer on probation.
DOC's own documents show Raymond Porter failed repeatedly to report to his community corrections officer. He flunked drug tests and confessed to using alcohol too. And he never entered court ordered drug treatment.
"Should Raymond Porter have been on the streets, are there people that should have kept him off the streets and kept the community safer?" said Ron Cox, Steve Cox's father.
And, DOC documents raise the same questions about drug offender Mary Jane Rivas, who is accused of killing Officer Joselito Barber in a car wreck while she was high on cocaine.
Twenty-time felon Neal Kelley killed himself and Officer Beth Nowak when he ran a red light in a stolen car. Again, DOC documents show for months, Kelley failed to show for meetings with his probation officer, and tested positive for cocaine.
Governor Gregoire has ordered the DOC to tell her what went wrong. Now these lawmakers want more drastic action right now.
"And we are also calling for the immediate freeze of additional releases until the Department of Corrections can prove, to our satisfaction, that they are able to supervise the people being released," Rep. Ericksen said.
We know of at least two bills in the Legislature that will force DOC to crack down on these offenders.
Again, KOMO 4 News attempted to contact the Department of Corrections, but they did not respond to our requests.
But, you can be sure we'll be there when secretary Harold Clarke shows up at the statehouse to report to lawmakers.
Now, less than 24 hours after a whistleblower's accusations about lax supervision of offenders by the Department of Corrections, state Republican lawmakers want action. They want Secretary Harold Clarke to explain what's wrong at Department of Corrections.
"We do have immediate concerns that need to be addressed with tough language," said Rep. Doug Eriksen.
"The heat is on the department," added Rep. Kirk Pearson. "And we expect the best and we want to the citizens of the state to know that we're looking out for their best interest."
Our whistleblower, a long-time Department employee, insists failures by DOC led to the deaths of three local police officers. Seattle officers Beth Nowak and Joselito Barber were killed in car wrecks. King County Deputy Steve Cox was shot by a felon on probation.
"They died for nothing," our whistleblower said. "My department could have done more."
Last December Joan Cox's son, King County Deputy Steve Cox, was gunned down by Raymond Porter, who is a known gang member and drug dealer on probation.
DOC's own documents show Raymond Porter failed repeatedly to report to his community corrections officer. He flunked drug tests and confessed to using alcohol too. And he never entered court ordered drug treatment.
"Should Raymond Porter have been on the streets, are there people that should have kept him off the streets and kept the community safer?" said Ron Cox, Steve Cox's father.
And, DOC documents raise the same questions about drug offender Mary Jane Rivas, who is accused of killing Officer Joselito Barber in a car wreck while she was high on cocaine.
Twenty-time felon Neal Kelley killed himself and Officer Beth Nowak when he ran a red light in a stolen car. Again, DOC documents show for months, Kelley failed to show for meetings with his probation officer, and tested positive for cocaine.
Governor Gregoire has ordered the DOC to tell her what went wrong. Now these lawmakers want more drastic action right now.
"And we are also calling for the immediate freeze of additional releases until the Department of Corrections can prove, to our satisfaction, that they are able to supervise the people being released," Rep. Ericksen said.
We know of at least two bills in the Legislature that will force DOC to crack down on these offenders.
Again, KOMO 4 News attempted to contact the Department of Corrections, but they did not respond to our requests.
But, you can be sure we'll be there when secretary Harold Clarke shows up at the statehouse to report to lawmakers.