The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs announced Thursday it would consider expelling Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank from the organization, saying his testimony before a state Senate committee could be seen as threatening to legislators.
Swank spoke at the statehouse Thursday afternoon in Olympia to oppose a bill that would create stricter eligibility requirements for police chiefs, marshals and sheriffs and remove elected sheriffs from office if the Criminal Justice Training Commission revokes their certification as a law enforcement officer.
In his comments before the Senate Committee on Law & Justice, Swank told lawmakers he didn’t recognize their authority to impose these controls on him.
“When you try to remove me from office, thousands of Pierce County residents will surround the County-City Building in downtown Tacoma and will not allow that to happen,” Swank said. “I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I and they are prepared. Are you prepared?”
Swank also addressed a different bill that would generally ban law enforcement from wearing masks or face coverings. He told legislators his deputies don’t wear masks, but if the bill becomes law he will encourage them to wear them just to see what the Legislature will do.
In a joint statement Thursday evening, the president of the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels, and Executive Director Steven Strachan said their organization had grave concerns about Senate Bill 5974, but that Swank’s “inflammatory” comments did not represent the WASPC’s views or approach.
“The scope of his testimony went beyond reasonable dialogue and devolved into what could be perceived as threatening to legislators and he challenged their constitutional authority,” Nowels and Strachan said. “The manner in which he conducted himself was not in line with the professional behavior we expect of members. We know that all public servants are subject to their oaths of office and the rule of law.”
The law enforcement leaders said WASPC intends to start proceedings for its board to consider expelling Swank. The executive board that leads WASPC includes sheriffs and police chiefs leading agencies in cities, counties and tribal communities from across the state, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office and the chief of the State Patrol, along with Strachan.
Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank (lower right) speaks before the state Senate Committee on Law & Justice in Olympia on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2025, in opposition to a bill that would create stricter eligibility requirements for police chiefs, marshals and sheriffs and remove elected sheriffs from office if the Criminal Justice Training Commission revokes their certification as a law enforcement officer. TV Washington
Reached by phone Thursday evening, Swank told The News Tribune he wasn’t surprised by the WASPC’s statement.
Swank said he didn’t think his comments before the state Senate committee were threatening. Asked about his statement that residents would surround a government building if the state tried to remove him from office, Swank emphasized that he didn’t say he would make that happen.
“That would be a crisis,” Swank said.
His opposition to the bill is in part about the fact that it would create eligibility requirements for sheriffs that are more rigorous than those in place for many other elected officials.
“You’re going to pass this qualification bill for law enforcement but you won’t hold yourselves accountable,” Swank told the state Senate committee. “Therefore, I propose everyone who runs for public office go through a background check, a social media review, a polygraph, a psychological test.”
It’s also about the fact that the bill threatens Swank’s position as sheriff.
The Criminal Justice Training Commission said in September that Swank was the subject of three investigations which could lead to his decertification as a law enforcement officer. That currently wouldn’t affect his position as sheriff, but if he was decertified and Senate Bill 5974 is signed into law, the original text of the bill says his office would be vacated.
Swank addressed the certification cases at a news conference last week in a Puyallup church with the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association.
“One of the things that would be disqualifying would be hate speech,” Swank said. “You know, the stuff I post on X, such as trans women are men. They want to decertify me for that, and if they pass this legislation then they can decertify me and then remove me from office.”
Swank has said he is not a member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. According to the States United Democracy Center, a nonpartisan nonprofit, the constitutional sheriffs movement contends that a sheriff’s law enforcement powers supersede those of any elected official at any level of government.
In a sworn deposition Swank gave last month in Pierce County’s lawsuit against Joan Mell, a private attorney who has tried to represent Swank in his official business, Swank said he believes in abiding by the Constitution, and he doesn’t use the term constitutional sheriff to describe himself because it has a bad connotation.
“I believe every sheriff, every law enforcement official, and deputies too, should abide by the U.S. Constitution and the Washington State Constitution when they’re doing police work,” Swank said Dec. 19.
The sheriff has feuded with other elected officials in Pierce County since he took office in January 2025. In May, Mell sent a letter on Swank’s behalf to County Executive Ryan Mello, Prosecutor Mary Robnett and County Council Chair Jani Hitchen. It demanded mediation on six issues and asserted that the Sheriff’s Office did not have to comply with orders issued by Mello, particularly one that outlined how federal contracts should be reviewed and approved.
Swank also used his speech at the Puyallup news conference to speak about the WASPC, which he has privately railed against in text messages with Mell, calling the organization “a bunch of libtards.”
Swank said very few people in WASPC agree with him. At a recent meeting, he said members said lawmakers would pass the bill about eligibility requirements for sheriff, and they should compromise with them and help them write up the qualifications.
“I told them you should never compromise with them at all,” Swank said. “Because if you look at the Constitution, in order to run for president what do you need to be? Born here and 35 years old. Why would we make any requirements more so on the sheriff than we would on the President of the United States?”
This story was originally published January 15, 2026 at 9:21 PM.
Peter Talbot
The News Tribune
Peter Talbot is a criminal justice reporter for The News Tribune. He started with the newspaper in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at NPR in Washington, D.C. He also interned for the Oregonian and the Tampa Bay Times.
Support my work with a digital subscription
