Wash. Rev. Code » Title 16 · Chapter 16.52
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 16.52.210 (2025)

Destruction of animal by law enforcement officer—Immunity from liability

✓ laws through the 2025 session: 2026 session laws are not yet included
SyfertCases citing this section WA-LEGapp.leg.wa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
This chapter shall not limit the right of a law enforcement officer to destroy an animal that has been seriously injured and would otherwise continue to suffer. Such action shall be undertaken with reasonable prudence and, whenever possible, in consultation with a licensed veterinarian and the owner of the animal.
Law enforcement officers and licensed veterinarians shall be immune from civil and criminal liability for actions taken under this chapter if reasonable prudence is exercised in carrying out the provisions of this chapter.
[ 1987 c 335 s 3.]

Notes:

Construction—Severability—1987 c 335: See notes following RCW 16.52.085.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1997–1997 · leading case: State v. Groom, 133 Wash. 2d 679 (1997).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
State v. Groom, 133 Wash. 2d 679 (1997). “070(1); RCW 16.52.210; RCW 26.09.300(6); RCW 26.10.”
State v. Groom, 947 P.2d 240 (Wash. 1997). “[3] If the Legislature had intended to include a good or bad faith component in RCW 10.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.