Under Washington state law, any assault on a healthcare worker can be a felony, including spitting, slapping, or other actions that might otherwise be treated as minor offenses with fewer consequences for the accused. The decades-old statute was meant to protect providers, who are increasingly harmed in violent attacks. But an investigation by The Marshall Project and The Seattle Times found the majority of the people charged by King County prosecutors, showed signs of serious mental illness. From 2018 through 2022, county prosecutors filed 151 cases for felony assault on a healthcare worker. Court records show that 76% of these cases were filed against people with signs of serious mental illness. That included people who were involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility, were in an emergency room for a mental health evaluation or had EMTs respond to their mental health crisis. But increased penalties for people in crisis do little to deter violence, experts say.
Since the start of the pandemic, more states have adopted similar laws as healthcare workers face increasing abuse. Congress is debating whether to make these assaults a federal crime. Multiple cases detail serious violence and speak to the abuse and danger that healthcare workers face on the job. Emergency care providers bear the brunt of an overwhelmed mental health care system when people spiraling have nowhere to go but their nearest hospital. A 2022 survey published by the American College of Emergency Physicians found that over half of ER doctors queried said they had been physically assaulted. A recent poll by the Emergency Nurses Association found over half of nurses had been physically or verbally assaulted within a 30-day period. “Having a mental illness does not prevent a person from committing an assault, does not necessarily alleviate them of legal responsibility, or provide a better option than the filing of criminal charges,” prosecutor’s office spokesperson Casey McNerthney wrote, noting that violence against health care workers is often underreported. “Sometimes there are no other options to prevent the violent behavior that victimizes hospital staff.”