Tumwater, Wash. (Oct. 1, 2025) – The Washington State Office of Independent Investigations (OII) is moving to a new location, the new OII Headquarters & Central Evidence Facility, that will house agency staff and support its work by providing a secure location for central evidence storage.
To commemorate this historic move, OII will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony and has invited state officials, community members, and others interested in OII’s work and mission.
- What: Ribbon cutting for the new OII Headquarters & Central Evidence Facility
- When: 11 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025
- Where: The Washington State Office of Independent Investigations – Headquarters & Central Evidence Facility, 818 79th Avenue SE, Tumwater
“Our move into a new building will support the continued growth of OII. It has taken extraordinary organization, planning and hard work to procure this office space,” Director Roger Rogoff said. “I am proud of our team for their tremendous efforts, and I am extremely grateful to our supporters in the state legislature, our state agency partners, and those in the community who want to see us fulfill our mission by operating statewide.”
As Washington’s newest state agency, this will be the first permanent home for OII. The project team that was set up in July 2021 to lay the groundwork for the agency worked out of office space provided by the Governor’s Office for Regulatory Innovation & Assistance (ORIA) in Olympia.
Then, in July 2023, OII moved into office space recently vacated by the Office of Financial Management (OFM), eventually occupying two floors of the Raad Building, also in Olympia.
Work to identify a location that could house all OII staff and provide ample and secure evidence storage began immediately with the new location identified by Fall 2022. OII worked with OFM and the Department of Enterprise Services (DES) on the design and remodel plans for the new building.
A lease for the building, a former warehouse producing candy, was signed in September 2024 with construction begun in April 2025.
Construction costs on the 20,800-square foot OII Headquarters & Central Evidence Facility were $3.5 million, with the property owner providing another $900,000 in building improvements. The building has dedicated offices as well as work-station cubicles. The conference and training room is outfitted with audio-visual equipment to enhance virtual meetings and trainings.
The evidence storage area provides 9,600-square feet of space, including a large area to process vehicles involved in OII investigations. It was designed to meet International Association of Property and Evidence accreditation standards.
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The Washington State Legislature created OII in 2021 to conduct independent and unbiased investigations of deadly use of force by law enforcement. It works with an 11-member advisory board that reviews and provides input on agency policies. To view this on the web, visit oii.wa.gov/news-and-updates.
Media inquiries can be directed to Hector Castro, Director of Communications, Hector.Castro@oii.wa.gov or 360-870-8115.