(The Center Square) – A bill that would dramatically change how sheriffs operate in the state of Washington is set for another public hearing Friday.
Senate Bill 5974 would give a state board the power to remove an elected sheriff.
Supporters call it modernization, but opponents warn it would take away the people’s right to elect a sheriff who represents their values and priorities.
At an initial public hearing on the bill, Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank spoke in strong opposition to the bill, which inspired a backlash from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
“WASPC has grave concerns with SB 5974. However, the inflammatory comments made by County Sheriff Keith Swank at a legislative committee hearing on January 15 do not represent the views or the approach of WASPC,” read their statement.
The association said the scope of the testimony Swank gave went “beyond reasonable dialogue … the manner in which he conducted himself was not in line with the professional behavior we expect of members.”
The Center Square spoke with Swank on Jan. 30 about his testimony and his concerns with the bill.
“I’m fighting for the office of sheriff, and the independence of it. The Democrats control the state House, the state Senate. They control every statewide executive office. They control just about every major city in the state,” said Swank. “The only thing they don’t control, the only people they don’t control are the sheriffs. And when they have control of the sheriffs, then it’s all over. They can impose their will upon everything.”
The bill digest states in part: “There is a need to clarify and reinforce state law that a primary duty of sheriffs, in addition to upholding the United States Constitution, is to uphold and enforce the Washington state Constitution and laws, as enacted by the legislature and interpreted by the Washington Supreme Court, so as to align state law.”
Supporters contend the legislation is needed to update decades-old laws governing sheriffs and other law enforcement leaders, including setting clearer eligibility standards and accountability rules.
But Swank told The Center Square that allowing a state oversight board to remove a sitting sheriff if their peace officer certification is revoked, is extremely dangerous.
“This is like 1984. They’ll put you in jail for your speech. And I went down there, and yes, I said some strong words and I was provocative. My only regret is, I only had 90 seconds instead of 3 minutes because my speech was 3 minutes long, and I could have really told them a few more things,” Swank said.
Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, told TCS he’s very concerned about the legislation.
“Our sheriffs are a constitutional office. They’re elected by the people of 38 of the 39 counties, and they are at the grassroots,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “They uphold the laws they swore to protect the Constitution’s state and federal. Leave them alone.”
Schoesler told TCS the legislation is undoubtedly directed at Sheriff Swank, but said it goes deeper than that.
“It’s also the sanctuary state really doesn’t like the fact that they [some sheriffs] want to cooperate. When you have really bad people in the jail, you should cooperate with the federal authorities because these are the people that we don’t want on our streets,” he said.
The legislation is set for a public hearing at 1:30 p.m. Thursday before the Senate Ways and Means Committee.
