Sergeant Wynecoop directing traffic at the scene of a collision.
Sergeant Wynecoop giving a presentation to a classroom of students.
Trooper Cook conducting a Standard Field Sobriety Test.
Overview
District 4 has 85 commissioned FOB personnel that supports the agency’s mission of enhancing the safety and security of our state through education and traffic law enforcement in the seven easternmost counties of Washington.
Key Measurements and Statistics
Although the district experienced record-breaking snowfall in February, March, September, and October, the district only experienced a five percent increase in total collisions for 2019. More importantly, fatality collisions were down 23 percent for the year with significant reductions in DUI and speed related fatality collisions, which are typically the leading cause of fatality collisions in District 4. The injury collisions were also down three percent for the year.
Successes of 2019
In an ongoing partnership with Washington State University (WSU), WSDOT and District 6, the district held multiple education and emphasis patrols in response to substantial traffic concerns associated with WSU students returning to school, WSU Thanksgiving Break and WSU Spring Break. For WSU Spring and Thanksgiving break, the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission funded 18 overtime shifts to address WSU traffic on State Route 26 in Districts 4 and 6. These overtime shifts focused on the most heavily travelled days and resulted in no fatality, serious injury or felony collisions during the emphasis periods.
On June 22, 2019, the Fairchild Air Force Base held their annual air show which draws huge crowds from the Inland Empire and surrounding states. The air show has a tremendous impact on the region’s roadways, and required a significant amount of pre-planning and coordination between Fairchild, the WSP, WSDOT and allied public safety agencies.
During the last weekend in June 2019, the district partnered with allied law enforcement agencies along with Serious Highway Crime Apprehension Team troopers, Aggressive Driving Apprehension Team troopers, WSP motorcycle troopers, and WSP Aircraft to address public safety issues associated with Spokane Hoopfest. The Spokane Hoopfest is the nation’s largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament with over 28,000 players and 200,000 spectators coming to Spokane.
The Spokane area has traditionally experienced significant issues with alcohol-related offenses, collisions, traffic congestion and crowd control issues, but the district experienced no fatality, felony or serious injury collisions associated with Hoopfest in 2019 due to the public’s cooperation and the outstanding work by enforcement personnel.