Senate Bill 5413 addresses the growing use of look-alike guns used to threaten police officers. Police Chief Brian Wilson brought this issue to my attention after there was an incident in Federal Way. A suspect pulled an air soft pistol from his waistband and pointed it at an officer. When the case got to the prosecutor's office, it became apparent that there was no charge to fit the facts.

This bill seeks to change the false perception that threatening a police officer with a fake gun isn’t going to amount to a serious crime. Senate Bill 5413 will add an additional 12 months to the offense in which the defendant was convicted.

I want to thank Federal Way Police Chief Brian Wilson for his help in crafting and testifying on this bill at the public hearings. In this day and age, we need to give our police officers tools that help them protect our communities. The Governor signed the bill into law on April 20 and it will take effect July 20, 2009. I was very happy to be able to sponsor the bill.

Here’s a press release about it.