Stricter standards for Washington sheriffs approved in state Senate

By: Jake Goldstein-Street

Outlets: Washington State Standard

Published: February 13, 2026

Words: 1,203

Last Updated: 2 weeks, 6 days ago

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The Washington state Senate approved legislation Thursday to set stricter eligibility standards for sheriffs and other police leadership, weeks after a sheriff’s comments on the bill left some lawmakers feeling threatened.

The contentious measure also looks to give the state a path to remove elected sheriffs from office if they don’t meet the new requirements and limit the use of “posses” of police volunteers that some sheriffs deploy.

After roughly two hours of debate,

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