Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank is under investigation by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC) after posting comments on social media questioning whether transgender people should be allowed to own guns.
The investigation follows a series of controversial statements Swank made on X, including a Sept. 1 post that read: “Do you think it’s time to ban trans people from owning guns?”
Swank later defended the post in interviews, saying he was raising a question about school shooters. “Several of them have been transgender people, and people on the left say that we should ban guns, so I’m saying, should we ban guns from trans people who are committing these violent crimes?” Swank told KOMO News.
The sheriff also referred to the recent Minneapolis church shooting that killed two children, where the suspect identified as transgender. He went further, stating, “Being transgender is a mental health issue.”
A US Secret Service report showed that transgender people accounted for just 1.67% of all mass shootings.
State Commission Response
The WSCJTC confirmed that Swank is the subject of three certification cases—two initiated by complaints and one connected to a disciplinary decision from his former employer, the Seattle Police Department.
“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,” the commission said in a statement.
Sheriff Pushes Back
Swank has dismissed the state’s review, calling it “a joke.” He argued that Washington law allows officials to target officers over speech.
On Sept. 5, Swank posted on X: “Today I received a complaint from the Criminal Justice Training Commission (WSCJTC) regarding my social media posts that if true can invoke RCW 43.101.105 (decertify me). This is what the left does to shut people up. I won’t be silenced.”
Swank, who previously served in the Seattle Police Department, resigned before a disciplinary investigation into his online activity began in 2025. A report by then-Interim Chief Sue Rahr said Swank would have been fired over his posts.
The sheriff said he does not believe his comments rise to the level of hate speech. “If you call 911, we don’t say, ‘What is your race, what is your gender, what is your this or that?’ You call 911, we go there,” he told KOMO.
“There’s been a narrative for decades, especially here in Washington state, that says this is what’s right, this is what’s wrong, and we’re going to tell you what you can and can’t say. I’m pushing back against that narrative. I support free speech.”
Swank added that he is not concerned about the risk of decertification. “I want them to investigate it and to try to decertify me … so we can fight this the whole way to the US Supreme Court if necessary.”
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