WA state auditor candidate seeks to repair rift between cops and community

The GOP candidate for state auditor has an idea for law enforcement oversight that he thinks can bring both sides of the aisle together, and he’s offering it specifically to communities who don’t feel like they have a seat at the table. Chris Leyba is a felony crimes detective and a law enforcement auditor with the King County Sheriff’s Office, and joined the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH to discuss his plan.

“With the implementation of I-940, there was obviously an interest in figuring out a way to bridge this rift we have with some of our communities and law enforcement. And it’s not just Washington, it’s nationwide. Everybody talks about the defund the police movement, but the vast majority of our community groups that are really interested in law enforcement reform do not want that,” he said.

“What they want is a seat at the table to be able to be heard and to be able to work with law enforcement, to look at our training, to look at our priorities, and really think about what do we actually want our cops doing, and what is going to be the best use of time that most of us, if not all of us, are going to buy into?”

Part of the idea is to make records more accessible through the creation of a new assistant director of public safety oversight.

“First of all, this director is actually going to have subpoena power. So when we need to do performance audits on, let’s say, training, we actually can go into state agencies and request records and really demand them without any interference. … Community groups are often frustrated that there’s delays with government, and there’s hindrances that won’t be a barrier anymore,” he said.

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“Let’s say the group decides we’re not sure that you’re getting enough crisis intervention training statewide,” he continued. “So what we’ll be able to do is we’ll be able to petition law enforcement agencies and say we want your curriculum for your crisis intervention training. Historically, there might have been delays. There might have been partial records produced, or worst case scenario, somebody even say no. This won’t allow them to say no. They’ll actually have to provide that now. It’s not about punishing. It’s about making sure we get a good, comprehensive set of data.”

What is the end goal of this new position supposed to be?

“The end goal is to fix this relationship. If I don’t win my election, I’m still going to be a police officer, and we do see it. Whether it’s real or it’s perceived, there is a very serious rift with cops in the community right now. When I talk to young guys and new guys in my department, they say it stresses them out because people get into this job to help people and they don’t want to feel like the enemy on day one,” he said.

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“I think that this will absolutely add some real credibility and get these communities, these interest groups in these communities, really believing that they actually have a seat at the table. That’s going to help rebuild some of this relationship,” Leyba added. “So it’s the survival of the profession that I love. Obviously, I’m going to be doing something new as the state auditor, but public safety will still matter. I still want my family and my community to be safe, and we need good relations with our cops in order to make that happen.”

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show weekday afternoons from 3 – 6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (or HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the podcast here.

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