Pierce County Sheriff draws controversy over social media posts; could face decertification
A recent social media post from Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank asking about banning transgender people from owning firearms has drawn controversy within the LGBTQ+ community and the state.
“For the top law enforcement officer of Pierce County to act in this way is unacceptable,” said Jessica, a trans Pierce County resident.
KIRO 7 sat down with Sheriff Swank and asked him about the certification cases.
“Ha, I laughed. I think it’s great. I actually want it to be looked at. I actually want them to try to decertify me so we take this to court,” Swank said.
Swank also doubled down on his posts, saying that he was trying to engage with the community about a certain issue.
He also understands the controversy surrounding his tweets, but he assures the public that his job as Sheriff is to protect the people of Pierce County.
“So, I am going to continue to say stuff. I am not going to treat anybody differently out there on the street,” Sheriff Swank said. “But if you disagree with Keith Swank the Sheriff and you want to post something about it, I support that,” he continued.
But during our conversation with Jessica in downtown Tacoma, she feels Swank’s posts can create a harmful negative to the LGBTQ community.
“I feel that he just made our lives much more unsafe,” she said.
It’s because of those posts the Washington State Justice Training Commission is looking into his conduct. A spokesperson with the agency sent KIRO 7 this statement and that no investigators have been assigned to the cases:
“Sheriff Swank is the subject of three Certification cases – two initiated by complaint and one initiated by a notice of an initial disciplinary decision from his former employer, Seattle PD. They are all in intake or intake review (i.e., not yet assigned to an investigator).
All certified officers, including certified Sheriffs, can be investigated for decertification.
If misconduct within the certification statute is proven by a preponderance of the evidence, penalties can include revocation of certification, suspension of certification, probation and/or retraining,”