Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Interlocal Agreement with Snohomish CountySNOHOMISH COUNTY INTER -LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
MUTUAL AID AGREEMENT
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of the Law Enforcement Emergency Response Mutual Aid Agreement is to
permit signatory agencies to make the most efficient use of their powers by enabling
them to coordinate resources and to maximize funding reimbursement during
disasters/emergencies.
This Agreement will allow signatory agencies to support each other during
disasters/emergencies to protect life and property, when the event is beyond the
capabilities of the affected entity. This Agreement provides the mechanism for an
immediate response to the Requesting Agency provided the Responding Agency has
the resources and expertise necessary and available.
When faced with a disaster or emergency, law enforcement agencies have a
responsibility to maintain service and recover in the most expedient way. This can best
be accomplished by preparation, coordination and cooperation with other law
enforcement agencies. Agencies are charged with the responsibility of coordinating
efforts and compiling damage and recovery information on disasters, which can then be
forwarded to the appropriate authority for financial reimbursement.
The following definitions for disaster and emergency are from the State Comprehensive
Emergency Management Plan and were used in this Law Enforcement Emergency
Response Mutual Aid Agreement:
Disaster: An event expected or unexpected, in which a community's
available, pertinent resources are expended; or the need for
resources exceeds availability; and in which a community
undergoes severe danger; incurring losses so that the social or
economic structure of the community is disrupted; and the
fulfillment of some or all of the community's essential functions are
prevented.
Emergency:
AGREEMENT
An event, expected
and resources; that
danger; that requires
resources.
or unexpected, involving shortages of time
places life, property or the environment, in
response beyond routine incident response
This Agreement is entered into under the Interlocal Cooperation Act (Chapter 39.34
RCW) between the SNOHOMISH COUNTY LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES by
which the respective jurisdictions agree to provide mutual aid as provided herein.
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WHEREAS, the law enforcement agencies have the responsibility of protecting
lives and property and keeping the peace; and
WHEREAS, the parties hereto have determined that in order to provide the
maximum possible protection for the lives and property of the citizens within their
respective boundaries, it is necessary to cooperate to fully utilize available resources;
and
WHEREAS, the parties desire to render to each other the maximum cooperation
possible in the sharing of staffing, equipment, technical expertise and other resources in
order to deal with a major emergency/disasters, civil disorder or other law enforcement
operations; and
WHEREAS, it is necessary and desirable that a cooperative agreement be
executed for the purposes of effecting mutual aid on a countywide basis;
NOW, THEREFORE, in order to carry out the purposes and functions described
above, and in consideration of the benefits to be received by each of the parties, the
parties agree as follows:
Section I. DEFINITIONS
The following terms shall have the following meanings, unless the context indicates
otherwise:
a. Agency. Any general —purpose law enforcement agency as defined by law.
b. Agreement. Inter -local agreements entered into by two or more agencies for the
purpose of law enforcement mutual aid.
c. County Mobilization Coordinator. The County Sheriff to who request for
assistance is made and who facilitates the provision of such aid by agencies
within the county.
d. Emergency includes, but is not limited to, a human -caused or natural event or
circumstance within the area of operation of any Party Agency causing or
threatening loss of life, damage to property, injury to person, human suffering or
financial loss, such as: fire, explosion, flood, severe weather, drought,
earthquake, volcanic activity spills or releases of hazardous materials,
contamination, utility or transportation emergencies, disease, infestation, civil
disturbance, riots, act of terrorism or sabotage; said event being or is likely to be
beyond the capacity of an affected Party Agency or Party Agencies, in terms of
personnel, equipment and facilities, thereby requiring Emergency Assistance.
e. Emergency Assistance means employees, services, equipment, materials, or
supplies offered during an Emergency by the Responding Agency and accepted
by the Requesting Agency when such service has been disrupted by acts of the
elements, equipment malfunctions, accidents, terrorism/sabotage and other
occurrences when Emergency Assistance from other Party Agencies is
necessary or advisable as determined by the Requesting Agency,
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f. Mobilization. To organize or put into readiness for active law enforcement
services.
g. Responding Agency, An Agency who has subscribed to this Mutual Aid
Agreement and has agreed to deliver Emergency Assistance to another Party
Agency pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Mutual Aid Agreement.
h. Requesting Agency. An Agency who has adopted, signed and subscribes to this
Mutual Aid Agreement and has made a request for Emergency Assistance and
has received commitment(s) to deliver Emergency Assistance pursuant to the
terms of this Mutual Aid Agreement.
Section II. Participation
Participation in this Mutual Aid Agreement is purely voluntary and at the sole discretion
of the Requested Agency. The furnishing agency shall have the primary interest of
protecting its own constituency. No Party Agency shall be liable to another Party Agency
for, or be considered to be in breach of or default under this Mutual Aid Agreement on
account of any delay in or failure to perform any obligation under this Mutual Aid
Agreement, except to make payment as specified in this Mutual Aid Agreement.
Section III. General Nature of Emergency Assistance
Emergency Assistance will be in the form of resources, such as equipment, supplies,
and personnel or the direct provision of services. The execution of the Mutual Aid
Agreement shall not create any duty to respond on the part of any Party Agency. A
Party Agency shall not be held liable for failing to provide Emergency Assistance. A
Party Agency has the absolute discretion to decline to provide any requested
Emergency Assistance and to withdraw resources it has provided at any time without
incurring any liability. Resources are "borrowed" with reimbursement and terms of
exchanged varying with the type of resource as defined in Section VI. The Participating
Agencies recognize that time is critical during an emergency and diligent efforts will be
made to respond to a request for resources as rapidly as possible, including any
notification(s) that requested resources are not available.
Section IV. Requests For Emergency Assistance
Requests for Emergency Assistance shall be directed to the designated contact
person(s) on the contact list provided by the Party Agencies. The extent to which the
Responding Agency provides any Emergency Assistance shall be at the Requesting
Agency's sole discretion. In the event the emergency impacts a large geographical
areas that activates either Federal or State emergency laws, this Agreement shall
ramain in effect until or unless this Agreement conflicts with such Federal and State
laws.
In the event of a major emergency/disaster or other law enforcement operation, the first
law enforcement resources to be used shall be those of the Requesting agency. In the
event that such resources are inadequate to control the situation by the Requesting
Agency, or there is a need for a specialized unit, a request for mutual aid under this plan
will be made directly to an assisting agency (requests for specific individual units) or
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through the Office of the Sheriff who is designated as the mutual aid coordinator for the
county. Such requests for assistance shall, if possible, specify the number of law
enforcement officers and type of equipment required and shall further specify where and
to whom such officers are to report and where and to whom the equipment should be
delivered.
Each signatory agency should develop and maintain a current plan for mobilization of its
personnel and other resources in order to effectively provide mutual aid to the other
signatory agencies.
The parties to this agreement shall provide the names, address and phone numbers of
its staff who have the authority to commit personnel and/or equipment to any
mobilization effort.
Section V. Command and Communications
A. Command
In the event of mobilization under this agreement, the Requesting Agency shall
take charge of the operation, unless the Requesting Agency specifically requests
that a different law enforcement agency fulfill this responsibility, or unless the
scope of the problem is multi -jurisdictional, in which case the provisions of the
County Mutual Aid Plan become operative. This shall include directing the
assignment of all personnel and equipment. The assignment of duties to officers
of assisting agencies shall be made by the supervising officer of the Requesting
Agency unless that responsibility is delegated to a different law enforcement
agency as indicated above.
2. The Incident Command or officer in charge of a responding unit at the scene of
an emergency, is authorized to request assistance from another party if
confronted with an emergency situation at which the Requesting Agency has
need for equipment or personnel in excess of that available through the
Requesting Agency's department.
3. Upon receipt of such a request, the commanding officer of the party receiving the
request, shall immediately take the following action:
(a) Determine if the Responding Agency has equipment and personnel
available to respond to the Requesting Agency and determine the nature
of the equipment and number of personnel available.
(b) Determine what available equipment and personnel should be dispatched
in accordance with the operating plans and procedures established by the
parties.
(c) In the event the needed equipment and personnel are available, to
dispatch such equipment and personnel to the scene of the emergency
with proper operating instructions.
(d) In the event the needed equipment and personnel are not available, to
immediately advise the Requesting Agency.
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4. Command Responsibility at. Emergency Scene. The underlying principle of
mutual aid is that other agencies and jurisdictions are serving as a resource to
the primary or requesting agency. The Incident Commander of the agency by
which the response is requested shall be in command of the operations under
which the equipment and personnel sent by the responding agency shall serve;
provided, that the responding personnel and equipment shall be under the
immediate supervision of the officer in charge of the responding agency. The
Incident Command, however, may be relinquished to the senior officer of any
department/agency rendering assistance under the terms of this agreement.
5. The Requesting Agency shall have the responsibility of establishing a command
post and notifying all assisting agencies at the earliest possible time of its
location. The Requesting Agency shall establish a command post in such a
manner as to provide an area suitable for the staging and directing of resources.
6. Termination of Service. The personnel and equipment of the Responding
Agency shall be released from service and returned to the Responding Agency
by the commanding officer in charge of the operations as soon as conditions
warrant.
B. Communications
To facilitate the utilization of mutual aid, common frequencies will be used wherever
possible, including the statewide Law Enforcement Radio Network. Agencies
working within given districts are urged, whenever possible, to establish and maintain
adequate tactical or operational sub -nets sharing allocated frequencies with
neighboring agencies on a restricted basis for mutual aid use.
Section VI. Indemnification and Limitation of Liability
Each party to this agreement agrees to be responsible for and assume liability for
its own wrongful and negligent acts or omissions, including the negligence
attributed to that party's command decisions, or those of its officers, agents, or
employees to the fullest extent allowed by law, and agrees to save and hold
every other party to this agreement and said parties, officers, agents, and
employees harmless from such liability and to waive any liability legal claims the
parties to this agreement might have against each other or any one of them for
liability arising out of the performance or non-performance of any act under this
agreement. However, in any lawsuit brought against any other parties to this
agreement or as against their officers, agents, or employees by persons or
entities not signatory to this agreement, then none of them shall be limited in their
legal rights to request apportionment of any judgment rendered against them,
and none of them shall be limited in their rights as provided under the laws of the
State of Washington to seek contribution for any judgment they are required to
pay in excess of their proportionate share of any liability judgment or award.
2. Insurance. Each party agrees to be adequately self -insured or maintain
adequate insurance coverage for its own equipment and personnel.
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3. Every party to the agreement should have equal access to the records created
by any of the agencies involved in a request for assistance so that they can have
the appropriate information to defend themselves in lawsuits.
4. Each party to the agreement should be obligated to notify every other party who
responds to a request for assistance should they receive a claim or lawsuit
arising out of emergency response operations.
Section VII. Loans of Personnel and Equipment
The Requesting Agency will be responsible for supplying and/or replacing supplies
needed and/or used by officers from assisting jurisdictions. These supplies shall include
food, gas for police vehicles, or any other supplies that are reasonably needed to sustain
the officers in enforcing the law and maintaining order. The Responding Agency will be
responsible for any repairs and/or damages done to their own vehicles as a result of
participation in mutual aid.
Section Vill. Term, Modification, Termination and Review.
Term. This agreement shall be in effect until it is replaced or discontinued
following the provisions contained in this section and commences on April 1,
2001. '
2. Modification: No changes or modification to this agreement shall be valid or
binding upon parties to this agreement unless such changes or modification are
in writing and executed by the parties
3. Termination. This agreement may be terminated as to any single party, when
that party gives notice to all the other participating parties in writing at least ninety
(90) days prior to its intended withdrawal from this agreement.
4. Review. This agreement shall be reviewed every five (5) years.
Section VIV. Signatories
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Agency hereto has caused this Mutual Aid Agreement for
Emergency Assistance to be executed by duly authorized representatives as of the date
of their signatures.
Agency: Edmonds Police Departm tit, Snohomish County, Washington
Authorized Representative:
Garya kenson, Mayor
Date: ,
Designated Primary Contact:
Phone Number:
Approved As To Form
/S/
Snohomish County
Inter -Local law Enforcement
Mutual Aid Agreement
Chief Robin Hickok
425 771-0200
3/9/01