by Vee Hua 華婷婷
Last week, the Washington State Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 6009, which prohibits the use of hog-tying or assisting another officer in putting a person into a hog-tie. It also classifies hog-tying as a type of excessive force and describes it as "fastening together bound or restrained ankles to bound or restrained wrists." The law, however, does not prohibit or include the use of transport chains or waist chains to transport prisoners, or the use of a product or device that does not require bound or restrained ankles to be joined with bound or restrained wrists.
The text of the bill stresses, "It is important that law enforcement discontinue practices and tactics that dehumanize and create unnecessary risk of harm and/or death to the people they serve. … The legislature finds that, in the quest to ensure that all communities are and feel safe, it is important to take guidance from published model policies, comport with statewide standards and training on restraint tactics, and prohibit hog-tying and other similar tactics that are inhumane, outdated, and have led to the unnecessary loss of human life."
The bill now moves to the House for consideration.
SB 6009 was inspired by the death of Manuel Ellis in Tacoma, though the Ellis family recently lost their trial, and all three officers were acquitted of all charges of murder and manslaughter. The U.S. Department of Justice, however, is conducting its own independent investigation into the State's case to determine whether the officers' actions in beating, tasering, and hog-tying Ellis were a violation of federal law.
Feb. 19, 2024, recognizes the national Day of Remembrance, or 追憶の日 and Tsuioku no Hi in Japanese. It marks over 82 years since over 100,000 Japanese Americans on the West Coast were mass incarcerated after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in 1942. The Day of Remembrance became an official day of observation after President Joe Biden issued a presidential proclamation in 2022. However, Washington State has had a longer history of celebrating the Day of Remembrance and began its efforts in November 1978; the State has officially recognized the Day of Remembrance since 2003.
A number of upcoming events seek to remember and recognize the traumas caused by Japanese incarceration, as well as build bridges toward similar struggles experienced by other communities, past and present.
University of Washington Husky Union Building
Monday, Feb. 12, 6—8 p.m.
Free
The Nikkei Student Union at the University of Washington (UW) remembers the Day of Remembrance with an evening of storytelling, featuring UW professor Vincent Schleitwiler, Puyallup Japanese American Citizens League, Frank Abe, UW Taiko Kai, and La Resistencia.
The event is free and takes place on the UW campus, at the Husky Union Building (HUB) 160: Lyceum. Dinner vouchers are sold at the door and beforehand. Register through the Nikkei Student Union's form.
Washington State Fair Events Center AgriPlex and Northwest Detention CenterSunday, Feb. 18, 1—3:30 p.m.Free
The event takes place at two locations, beginning at the Washington State Fair Events Center AgriPlex (5th Street Southwest in Puyallup) starting at 1 p.m., where most Japanese Americans in the Seattle area spent their initial months of incarceration. It then moves to Northwest Detention Center (1623 E. J St. in Tacoma) starting at 2:30 p.m., to connect Japanese incarceration with current immigrants who are detained there. Volunteers are still needed for pre- and post-event setup. Sign up through JACL's Google Form.
Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial
Monday, Feb. 19, 10 a.m.—12 p.m.
Everyone is invited to contribute to the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial (4192 Eagle Harbor Dr. NE on Bainbridge Island) by collectively gardening, trimming, and beautifying the memorial. The efforts will prepare the memorial for its annual commemoration on March 30.
Hand tools will be provided. Sign up on the Bainbridge Island Metro Park & Recreation District website.
Washington State Capitol
Monday, Feb. 19, 10 a.m.
The Washington State Legislature will observe the Day of Remembrance at the State Capitol (416 Sid Snyder Ave. SW in Olympia), in the chamber of the House of Representatives. Special recognition will be paid to guests who were formerly incarcerated or are World War II reservations.
All guests must arrive no later than 9:45 a.m. to be seated, and all guests must RSVP to Sarah.Ellerbrock@Leg.WA.gov. Please include a note if you were formerly incarcerated or a WWII veteran, or if you require special accommodations to participate.
After the adoption of a House resolution, guests will be invited to lunch on the first floor of the Legislative building.
The Communities Transforming Policing Fund (CTPF) at Borealis Philanthropy is seeking to support "local grassroots organizing groups led by and for communities most impacted by deadly and discriminatory policing practices," and will give priority to groups or organizations that are led by BIPOC, individuals with a disability, transgender or gender-nonconforming individuals, those impacted by policing and the criminal legal system, those who do not already receive significant support from national foundations, and those who have budget revenue of less than $750,000.
The grant, which would give out a total of $150,000 — or $50,000 per year for three years in a row — seeks to mitigate any immediate harm caused by State violence and seeks to support structural change. Organizations and groups that would be competitive include those that are: shifting power and resources from policing to communities; developing non-police response programs; working to reduce the size, scope, and role of policing; decriminalizing poverty, drugs, and sex work or focusing on housing, mental health, and reproduce justice; supporting those directly impacted by police violence; and taking direct action against police violence and thus experiencing political prosection.
View the Borealis Philanthropy request for proposal in English or in Spanish. Proposals will be accepted until Feb. 23, but potential grant recipients must first fill out an eligibility form.
All grants will be reviewed through Borealis Philanthropy's participatory grantmaking process.
Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the editor-in-chief of REDEFINE, a long-time member of the Seattle Arts Commission, and a film educator at the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they previously served as executive director and played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. After a recent stint as the interim managing editor at South Seattle Emerald, they are moving into production on their feature film, Reckless Spirits, which is a metaphysical, multilingual POC buddy comedy. They have a master's in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the American Indian Studies Department at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.
📸 Featured Image: "Never Again Is Now" are among the signs protesters bore on the Day of Remembrance 2020 Never Again. (Photo: Sharon Ho Chang)
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