“Good laws produce good results for the most part, and I’ve seen that happen over the course of my career… So is that a clear endorsement from the chief of the patrol? Definitely yes, because I’m hired to save lives.”
That’s Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste, talking about traffic safety and the proposed. 0.05% BAC limit for driving under the influence. Batiste has now served as chief under three governors: Chris Gregoire, Jay Inslee, and now Bob Ferguson. What keeps him going 20 years into the job?
“Passion. I love what I do. I love the people who I do it with. It’s about passion. And most importantly, I love protecting and serving Washingtonians.”
Batiste said the agency has shifted an existing intelligence position within the state’s Fusion Center to focus specifically on threats to lawmakers amid rising political violence nationwide.
The adjustment, made after recent attacks on public officials in other states, strengthens coordination between law enforcement and state security officials through the Washington State Fusion Center — an intelligence-sharing hub created after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Beneath that shift lies a larger goal: ensuring the center operates continuously. “We have ongoing conversations about the need to do what we can to fully ensure that the fusion center is stood up as a 24/7/365 operation,” Batiste said. “It is not.”
Also on the episode, Batiste addressed traffic safety, endorsing automated cameras in highway work zones and the proposed 0.05 BAC limit, citing their life-saving potential. He called wrong-way driving and roadway shootings “dangerous and rising problems,” urged continued coordination with local agencies, and said recent adjustments to police pursuit laws have restored troopers’ ability to keep drivers — and the public — safe.