Washington House passes bill giving state board power to remove an elected sheriff

OLYMPIA, Wash. — A controversial bill that could allow the state to remove an elected sheriff moved closer to becoming law after it passed the Washington House early Friday morning following hours of debate.

Senate Bill 5974 passed in a party-line vote in the House of Representatives after nearly eight hours of debate.

The bill would give the Criminal Justice Training Commission the ability to decertify sheriffs or police chiefs, effectively removing them from office.

The passage of the bill drew swift rebuke from several elected sheriffs, including Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders.

“This is one of the most unpopular, hypocrisy ridden bills ever passed,” Sanders wrote in a social media post. “This bill undermines local elections, creates unnecessary mistrust toward our state government, spits in the face of our democratic process, and doesn’t solve any real problems facing Washingtonians while artificially creating new ones.”

Supporters of the bill say it modernizes decades-old standards for sheriffs, police chiefs, and town marshals across Washington.

“Why not hold law enforcement leaders appointed or elected to the standards of accountability and professionalism that their subordinates are held to?” said Sen. John Lovick (D) – Mill Creek. “To be clear, peace officers do not lose their standards for being unpopular. There are objective standards for decertification.”

Lovick, who was a Washington State Patrol trooper and the sheriff of Snohomish County, was one of the co-sponsors of the bill.

The bill sets minimum requirements – including age, experience, and background checks – for elected sheriffs and police chiefs.

Critics of the bill say it shifts power away from voters.

“We are taking away the right of the people to select and elect their own county sheriff,” said Rep. Travis Couture (R) – District 35.

Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank told KOMO News on Friday he believes the bill is an attempt to silence him.

“This is about things that I said that the left, the Democrats, don’t like,” Swank said.

Swank is currently facing multiple complaints to the state’s Criminal Justice Training Commission, some stemming from statements he’s made on social media.

He routinely weighs in on immigration and transgender issues online – and says he stands by his statements.

“Nobody is going to tell me I can’t speak and say my peace, the First Amendment, part of it, is for people to say speech that isn’t nice,” Swank said.

Swank, who says he runs the “cleanest sheriff’s office there’s been”, emphasized he is prepared if the state tries to yank his law enforcement certification after the passage of SB 5974.

“No, I’m not worried for my job,” he said. “Maybe that has to happen for the citizens of Washington state to say ‘that is overreach, that is too much’ – even if I don’t like Swank, I don’t want him removed from office for what he said because that could happen to someone I agree with down the road.”

After passing the House early Friday morning, the bill heads back to the Senate for concurrence. If approved there, it would then go to Gov. Bob Ferguson for his signature.

KOMO News has reached out to Ferguson’s office to inquire if he plans to sign the bill.