Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor | Complaints against Swank based on subjective opinions
Regarding the Gig Harbor Now article “Charter Review Commission considering proposal to make sheriff appointed (again)” by Vince Dice.
As part of Dice’s description of the Charter Review Commission’s proposal to change the County Charter to require appointing rather than electing the Pierce County Sheriff, the article cited that there currently are seven WA State Criminal Justice Training Commission inquiries into current Sheriff Keith Swank’s actions while in office. Retired Sheriff Paul Pastor was first appointed and then elected. Pastor noted when he spoke to the Commission that as an appointed sheriff, his actions were subject to legal interpretations and inquiries, not always the written law, so he was glad when his status was changed to elected, as he then knew that he could stand on Constitutional law.
Several people providing feedback to the Commission noted that Sheriff Swank won the Sheriff’s election with stiff competition. He had to run and convince the public that he was the best qualified candidate, and he did that.
While the seven investigations into current Sheriff Swank’s behavior might appear to be concerning, on deeper review, they seem to be based on slanted, subjective opinions, not incontrovertible facts. Several complaints are anonymous and written as general, nonspecific complaints. A specific one involves Swank’s calling self-described transgender individuals “mentally ill” (actually, we read from the K5 local news report, what he said was that they had “mental illness”).
It is not wrong to use the term mental illness about transgender individuals, many of whom are determined to have Gender Dysphoria, which, according to the American Psychiatric Association, is a psychiatric diagnosis, a finding of mental illness, best treated with psychiatric care. Sheriff Swanks’ psychology degree and particularly his laudable long-time work as a patrol officer with seriously mentally ill individuals involved in crimes in Seattle attest to his expertise in the matter.
His question about whether such a diagnosis should make the individual eligible to have their gun rights removed or curtailed was just that. It was a hypothetical question based on recent national incidents of gun violence involving transgender individuals. We do already have laws like this after involuntary commitment for mental health reasons.
Regarding his description of a reported disagreement with PC Attorney Mary Robnett and another county employee where he apparently used harsh language, he agreed that his comments could have been better expressed without the harshness. He submitted an extensive, detailed report of the situation as it unfolded so that officials and the public can make their own judgment.
We trust that Pierce County residents knew what they were doing when they first voted to approve the Sheriff position as an elected official accountable to the public that he or she serves. We remain just as confident that we, not an appointing official who has not been trained in any law enforcement capacity, should be allowed to choose a sheriff based on their accomplishments and their body of work with colleagues and subordinates. We want the best-qualified person who will be laser-focused on fulfilling their constitutional duties and protecting the citizens of Pierce County.
Linda Siegel
Fox Island