(1) A peace officer is prohibited from:

(a) Hog-tying a person; or

(b) Assisting in putting a person into a hog-tie.

(2) Hog-tying shall constitute the use of excessive force for the purposes of RCW 10.93.190.

(3) This section shall not be interpreted to prohibit the use of any other alternative restraint product or device that is administered to reduce the incidence of respiratory fatigue or positional asphyxia if such restraint product or device does not violate this section.

(4) For purposes of this section, "hog-tie" or "hog-tying" means fastening together bound or restrained ankles to bound or restrained wrists. "Hog-tie" or "hog-tying" does not include the following:

(a) Use of transport chains or waist chains to transport prisoners; or

(b) Use of a product or device that does not require bound or restrained ankles to be fastened together to bound or restrained wrists.

Intent—Findings—2024 c 291: "The legislature finds it is imperative that our criminal justice systems, including the law enforcement profession, must secure public trust and ensure accountability. In order to do so, the legislature finds that it is important to discontinue practices and tactics that dehumanize and create unnecessary risk of harm and/or death to the people they serve. Additionally, it is important that law enforcement is using up-to-date tactics that come with adequate training from the criminal justice training commission to ensure continuity and oversight in the standards applied across the profession. This includes tactics that comply with the model use of force policies put forward by our state's attorney general.

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standards and training on restraint tactics, and prohibit hog-tying and other similar tactics that are inhumane, outdated, and have led to the unnecessary loss of human life." [ 2024 c 291 s 1.]