We are at Lakewood Police HQ in Pierce County – home of the force that lost four officers in one murderous attack last fall, four of six officers around the region murdered in the line of duty within just a few months (including Seattle Police Officer and West Seattle High School graduate Timothy Brenton). Governor Gregoire is here to sign 19 bills into law, many of them closing loopholes that may have factored into some of last fall’s killings – but one of them, signed minutes ago, is the “Jason McKissack Bill,” renamed for the former West Seattle police officer viciously attacked while on duty in summer 2008. As the governor signed that bill, Jason and wife Kim were at the governor’s side – see the photo above, in which she was looking up at Jason, who is behind Kim (in pink). The bill makes sure that catastrophically injured public-safety personnel unable to return to work are no longer in danger of losing medical benefits for themselves and their families, as was the case here, and law-enforcement advocate Renee Maher has said it will retroactively cover the McKissacks. They met privately with the governor before the signings began, as did families of fallen officers; more than 200 people crowded into the room, and emotions ran high. The signing of the bill, HB 1679, was the end of a difficult political process as well as a victory in the McKissacks’ fight to help Jason recover; at one point this session, the bill appeared in danger of stalling, but support from the public, local law enforcers, their advocates, and local legislators helped get it through. We will add video when we’re back at HQ; you’ll see coverage of this overall event on TV tonight too, as all the local stations were here. ADDED 6:53 PM: Video of the actual signing – preceded by some of the shuffle that took place in the moment beforehand: