Can Washington officers question children without an attorney present?

Aug 1, 2024, 5:20 PM | Updated: 5:25 pm

Photo: A Seattle Police Department vehicle is parked outside Lumen Field in Seattle. Officers said ...

A Seattle Police Department vehicle is parked outside Lumen Field in Seattle. (Photo courtesy of the Seattle Police Department)

(Photo courtesy of the Seattle Police Department)

BY SAM CAMPBELL

KIRO Newsradio Reporter

Interim Seattle Police Department (SDP) Chief Sue Rahr is giving officers the go-ahead to question children without an attorney present but only if they are witnesses or victims — not if they are suspects.

According to multiple sources including Axios, the decision goes back to a 2021 state law prohibiting officers from interviewing underage suspects if they didn’t have an attorney. The law was put in place to protect children’s rights. However, police previously cited the law saying it impeded their ability to get details from witnesses.

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KIRO Newsradio spoke with former King County Sheriff John Urquhart on Wednesday about the law.

“Either it was it was misunderstood by SPD and they needed to clarify it, or more likely, it was it was complicated enough that the officer didn’t really understand what they could do and what they couldn’t do,” he said.

However, Urquhart noted for officers at a scene, making that distinction can be difficult.

“One person’s suspect one minute is a witness the next or vice versa,” he said.

Questions over the state law arose after shootings near Seattle area high schools this year. For instance, the killing of Amarr Murphy Paine at Garfield High School in June.

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Police suggested their investigations were hampered because they couldn’t question witnesses.

“Have these witnesses not been interviewed because they’re refusing to be interviewed, because there is a culture of silence occasionally, or is it because the officers felt they couldn’t interview them,” Urquhart said.

Urquhart applauded Rahr’s directive saying he hopes it’ll lead to more solved crimes.

“That’s really the bottom line, bringing justice to families, bringing justice to victims, that’s what our job is and hopefully this will allow us to do that better,” Urquhart said.

You can read more of Sam Campbell’s stories here. Follow Sam Campbell on X or email him here.