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Roy v. City of Everett2/6/1992
t 1-2.
Defendants interpret the words in RCW 10.99.070, "any other action or omission", as giving police officers -- and the entities for which they work -- absolute immunity from any claim based on domestic violence, unless it can be proved the officers acted in bad faith. Under this view neither negligent failure to enforce the law nor failure on the part of a police department to develop procedures to protect victims of domestic violence would suffice to abrogate this immunity. RCW 10.99.070, however, was not enacted in a vacuum. As the trial court correctly noted, it is a part of, and must be read in light of, the general purpose and intent
of the domestic violence act. The statement of intent in RCW 10.99.010 reads:
The purpose of this chapter is to recognize the importance of domestic violence as a serious crime against society and to assure the victim of domestic violence the maximum protection from abuse which the law and those who enforce the law can provide. The legislature finds that the existing criminal statutes are adequate to provide protection for victims of domestic violence. However, previous societal attitudes have been reflected in policies and practices of law enforcement agencies and prosecutors which have resulted in differing treatment of crimes occurring between cohabitants and of the same crimes occurring between strangers. Only recently has public perception of the serious consequences of domestic violence to society and to the victims led to the recognition of the necessity for early intervention by law enforcement agencies. It is the intent of the legislature that the official response to cases of domestic violence shall stress the enforcement of the laws to protect the victim and shall communicate the attitude that violent behavior is not excused or tolerated. Furthermore, it is the intent of the legislature that criminal laws be enforced without regard to whether the persons involved are or were married, cohabiting, or involved in a relationship.
That statement of intent is crucial to the case before us and explains why the "any other action or omission" language must not be interpreted as broadly as the defendants suggest, so broadly that it would vitiate the rest of RCW 10.99.
Over the lengthy period of time during which Milton Glenn terrorized and abused Sheila Roy, she was unsuccessful in stopping the violence. This lack of success might be attributable to any of a number of factors -- among them, lack of societal comprehension of the problems relating to domestic violence, lack of enforcement of existing laws by the police, or failure on her own part to follow up on the complaints she made. It is not for us to determine on appeal from a denial of summary judgment for defendants, however, whether Roy may have been partially responsible for the fact that the laws protecting her were not adequately enforced. That is for the jury to decide, after weighing all the evidence. What this court can and must determine is the proper interpretation of RCW 10.99.070.
[1, 2] As we noted in Seven Gables Corp. v. MGM/UA Entertainment Co., 106 Wash. 2d 1, 6, 721 P.2d 1 (1986):
In construing statutes, the goal is to carry out the intent of the Legislature. In doing so, it is the duty of the court in interpreting a statute to make the statute purposeful and effective. Any statutory interpretation which would render an unreasonable and illogical consequence should be avoided. Thus, in attempting to effect the intent of the Legislature, an
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