From: Johanknecht, Mitzi

Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2019 3:57 PM

Subject: LinX Update

I want to thank all of you for your patience as we have worked, on several fronts, to re-establish
our membership with LinX.

It was never my intention to permanently withdraw from LinX, instead the decision to
temporarily withdraw was made out of an abundance of caution. After a recent King County
audit determined the Sheriff’s Office had violated King County Code 2.15 by supplying
documents to ICE, I became concerned about potential misuse of the LinX database.

A deeper legal review, and consultation with the County Council, has determined that our use of
LinX does not violate the King County ordinance. I am grateful to the Councilmembers and their
central staff for working closely with us over the last couple of weeks to reach this conclusion.

We hope to have your access to LinX restored as soon as tomorrow.

Discussions with LinX Northwest continue in hopes of creating a more permanent solution to
prevent use of this important criminal database for civil immigration enforcement.

Moving forward we will continue to operate with compassion toward our immigrant and refugee
populations.

Mitzi G. Johanknecht, Sheriff

KING COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

516 Third Avenue, W-116
Seattle, WA 98104