WA police lag on required deescalation, mental health training

Washington law enforcement officers are way behind completing deescalation and mental health training required under the state’s marquee police accountability law.

That’s according to a report released this week by the state auditor’s office. The audit found just 16% of veteran officers and 14% of new officers had finished the 40 hours of training. Roughly 42% of vets were at least halfway done. At this rate, under half of the state’s officers will have finished the training by a 2028 deadline.

The mandated training aims to reduce use-of-force cases, making civilians and officers safer, and thus improving trust in law enforcement.

It includes 16 hours of mostly online community and cultural awareness courses, and 24 hours of in-person patrol tactics training every three years. Topics include managing distance between officers and the people they interact with, managing the pace of an interaction, communication strategies for engaging with those with mental health issues and physical force alternatives.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/04/17/wa-police-lag-on-required-deescalation-mental-health-training/