A first of its kind state agency faces a slow start, and pushback from police reform advocates
Back in 2021, following calls for police reform after the murder of George Floyd, Washington state did something unique.
Legislators created a state-funded agency to investigate instances of serious or fatal police use of force – even ones that had happened in the past.
Many believe the Office of Independent Investigations has potential to improve trust between marginalized communities and law enforcement.
But some say it’s taking the office too long to get going. So far, the OII hasn’t officially launched a single investigation.
Melanie Henshaw, an Indigenous Affairs reporter at InvestigateWest, spoke to reform advocates and agency officials about the obstacles that are keeping the office from quickly meeting its intended purpose.
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- Melanie Henshaw, Indigenous Affairs reporter for InvestigateWest
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Libby Denkmann
Host, Soundside
Libby Denkmann joined KUOW in December 2021 as the host of the midday show Soundside. She’s a native Pacific Northwesterner who grew up in Redmond, graduated from the University of Washington, and covered local news as a producer and reporter with KIRO Radio.
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Sarah Leibovitz
Supervising Producer, Soundside
Sarah joined KUOW in 2019 as senior producer on The Record. She is now Supervising KUOW’s new noon time show, Soundside. Prior to working at KUOW, Sarah was lead producer at the Seattle podcast production company Larj Media, and a teaching artist with Path with Art.
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Noel Gasca
Producer, Soundside
Noel is a producer for KUOW’s midday show Soundside. Prior to joining Soundside, Noel worked as an online editor/producer with KUOW’s web team. She’s also a proud graduate of KUOW’s RadioActive program.
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