Washington Sheriff wants to work with ICE

On this episode of Briefing with the Chief, we will be joined by Pierce County Washington Sheriff Keith Swank. Washington State is a Sanctuary State and refuses to work with ICE. Swank is challenging the law, stating it is unconstitutional. We will discuss his efforts in Pierce County and get is thoughts on the Trump Administrations efforts to deport migrants, who are in the country illegally.
Prior to being election Sheriff of Pierce County, Swank was 33 Year veteran of the Seattle Police Department. While serving as a Captain on SPD, he was charge with dismantling and dispersing makeshift structures and persons who made up the autonomous zone in downtown Seattle call the Chop/Chaz. This was a Cop free zone that developed after the death of George Floyd. It was set up by “protesters” and rioters. 

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Good afternoon. This is free Food the Chief. I'm your host,
Pactor Jordan on kJ a dB dot com. This is
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(01:38):
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help me reach a lot of different lot of people.
Now here's today. We're gonna have a sheriff from Pearris County, Washington,
Sheriff Keith Swank, who's going to talk to us about
his fight to want to work with ICE. They got
sanctuary policies up there. He wants to work with ICE.

(02:01):
The state and the county or the local folks won't
let him work with ICE. But before we get to
the sheriff, we're going to talk about some current events
here and and Gavin Newsom is in. He's in South Carolina.
He's obviously starting his run to see if he's going
to be a viable candidate for president of the United States. Now,
I have endured Gavin Newsom for decades here in California,

(02:23):
because I am coming to you from California. I watched
him as as as the mayor of San Francisco. He
slept with his best friend's wife his campaign manager was
his best friend, soff with his wife. You know, of
course that was for me, that was it. You know,
you do that, you know you can't even be loyal
to your friend. How can we trust you? But hey,
this is California and Democrats they trust everybody, right, anybody,

(02:45):
as long as as long as they match up politically right,
anything goes right. But he lost me there. But he's
he was also then the lieutenant governor and now he
is the governor and he's been the governor for over
six years and it's been design in California. But he's
moving the middle. He's trying, he's trying to pretend like

(03:05):
all these disastrous policies he had nothing to do with it. Now,
there was there was a recent bill that passed in
in in Sacramento, and it was a bill that that said, well,
we're going to make it a felony if people people
offer money for sex from minors. Can you believe that?
It used to be a very serious crime. But then

(03:25):
we had these crazy leftists get into our Assembly and
our Senate up in that and in Sacramento, and they
relax those laws. It's crazy. And Newsome told them, I
need this this past. I need this past. One of
the other aspects of that bill is loitering with intent
to solicit prostitution. They got rid of that too about

(03:47):
two years ago, and of course prostitution is increased in California.
But Newsom's going to the middle, so he's he's he's
allowed modern Democrats to be moderate again and voting some
tough on crime laws. So I think Gavin Newsom is
just a liar. And I'm gonna use my show to
at least get some of the truth out. And I'm
just gonna I'll do a little bit here and there

(04:08):
every show, just trying and let the rest of you
guys know what Gavin Newsom is really about. And this
one we're going to talk. We're going to talk about
gas prices. Now, Gavin Newsom has been gas lighting us
for probably almost two decades about how the oil companies
are gouging us. Let's go with the Gavin Newsom's lie

(04:28):
and then we'll get to the truth after that. So
the video.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
A new class of state lawmakers will be sworn in
tomorrow and immediately be thrust into a fight between Governor
Gavin Newsom and the oil industry.

Speaker 3 (04:39):
The governor is accusing oil companies of price gouging Californians
during the recent energy crisis at Lascosa's Live in Triman
Oaks with details for us ED.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
And Susan.

Speaker 4 (04:50):
You're right about that. These high gas prices and the
oil companies themselves expected to be the target of Governor
Newsom and the new batch of state lawmakers. They're sworn
in first thing in the morning, and then the governor
calling him into a special legislative session targeting with the
governor has been calling the excessive profits of the oil companies.
Let's get right into it to the video. As I'm
sure you know, Governor knew some no stranger. He's been

(05:11):
going after the big oil companies for several months now,
especially before the election, saying that they are intentionally, as
the governor says, price gouging.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
Yeah, you know, you're not going to need to do
the whole thing, but that's it. He's been saying the
oil companies are price gouging. His last big step was
saying they're gouging, they're using maintenance. We only have I
think six refineries in California. We used to have like thirty.
But the regulation on the oil companies and refinery has
been so stringent and so tough that many have decided
it's not worth operating in California and they've left, which

(05:42):
has caused incredibly high gas prices. They hit in some
areas of La County just a few weeks ago, eight
dollars a gallon. Eight dollars a gallon. And this is
all because of the regulatory process. But he said, it's
really the gas companies, the oil companies that are gouging us.
So we need to make sure that the oil companies
are required to have sufficient capacity means storage of oil

(06:04):
on hand when they do maintenance. Well, any any anybody's
got any basic economics understands if you compel the oil
companies to maintain million, tens of millions of dollars of
gallons of oil on their property, that that's going to
cost a lot more money, and that's going to increase
the costs. In fact, that's what the economics scientists said.
That's what the economist said, Hey, this is just going

(06:26):
to increase the price of gas by a few maybe
by ten or twelve percent permanently instead of going through
the spikes. Now you have a permanent increase and two
refineries have said we're done, we're out next year, and
they're anticipating. Because of that, we're facing eight dollars and
fifty per cents per gallon in California. But let's let's

(06:49):
get up the truth. See, he's been lying to us.
He's been gas letting it because his goal is net
carbon zero by twenty forty five, which is an artificial goal.
We do not half Net carbon zero means we're not
using any carbon based fuels by twenty forty five in Caliborifornia.
That is just a political goal. That is not a
goal that's required by legislation anywhere. And actually it will

(07:12):
not impact global warming at all because California's use of
carbon fuels is just minuscule in compared to the global usage,
so we won't have any impact at all. But that's
his goal. So let's let's roll the next video, the gouging.
This is the truth.

Speaker 5 (07:31):
Ay USC professor says California is high gas prices are
the result of state policies and lower production and not
price gouging. Marshall Business School professor Michael Niche released a
report this month's detailing why Californians pay so much for gasoline.
He identified seven factors that have pushed prices higher for decades,

(07:52):
most of which have to do with state taxes and
environmental regulations. The professor also says that higher labor costs
and lower production rates are pushing prices higher at the pump,
and he expects that trends to continue as we approach
California's twenty thirty five target for banning the sale of
new gas powered cars.

Speaker 1 (08:14):
Yeah, so there you go. So we got the twenty
thirty five are banning gas power cards and a twenty
forty five by eliminating all fossil fuels as an energy source.
And it is the regulation, but you heard it straight
from the University of Southern California. It is regulation that
is causing the increase, not price scouting. So that means

(08:36):
the governor's been lying to us for years. So if
you're a Democrat looking for that moderate person that you
can trust because you want to support a Democrat in
the next primary for president, if you're looking for somebody
that you can trust, you're looking for somebody that's going
to tell you the truth. You're looking for somebody who's
going to look out for your interests. He's not the guy.
He's not the guy. And I'll keep doing these little

(08:56):
nuggets on my show just to let you know who
Gavin Newsom truly is not who he's presenting himself to be. Today.
Now we got an another liar here that I got
exposed because this one drives me crazy. This is this
is Karen Bass, and she's been on this drum beat
of and we didn't need the National Guard in LA
and what they're doing is wrong and it's illegal, and Trump,

(09:19):
you know, exceeded his his authority, and there's some some
truth in that. We've probably had the resources to deal
with the crowds. But as a politician, she made it
very clear, and many of the politicians made it very
clear that they wanted to fight Ice and resist ICE's
efforts in Los Angeles, and that led to clear assaults

(09:40):
on federal officers and damaging accounting buildings. So Trump nationalized
California's National Guarden, brought him down here, and Gavin Newsom
and Karen Bass have been ringing our hands ever since.
But we're going to see a video clip where she's
claiming victory, but it's really just a lie. Let's let's
roll that that clip.

Speaker 2 (09:59):
Good afternoon.

Speaker 3 (09:59):
Ever, I am here to say that we've had an
important victory. I think because Los Angeles stood strong because
we understood what it meant that the federal government came
in and seized power away from our governor regarding the
deployment of the National Guard and inappropriately sent the National

(10:23):
Guard here when they were not needed. The administration has
finally understood that they need to withdraw the troops. Let
me say that this is what happens when the city
stands strong because we have been united, when people peacefully protest,
when people raise the concerns about having National Guard in

(10:47):
a situation where they were, as far as I'm concerned,
used as props. You know that their primary mission here
was to guard two buildings that frankly didn't need to
be guarded. And I frank we think of the young
women and men who serve in the National Guard, who
go about their lives normal at school, with their families

(11:10):
and at work, and they are called to duty and deployed,
and in this case deployed unnecessarily, which means they had
to leave their families, they had to leave their education,
they had to leave their work. They were here in
some cases, sleeping on floors.

Speaker 4 (11:27):
It's not clear what conditions they were.

Speaker 3 (11:29):
In, and now they have been withdrawn. Two thousand troops
are being withdrawn. We don't exactly know where they're going.
I certainly hope that these young people will not be
used as props in some other city. I have said
from the beginning that what is happening in Los Angeles
is we are being used as a test case, and

(11:50):
I am hoping that this experiment with the lives of
people ends here.

Speaker 2 (11:55):
This has been a blow.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
To the eCos. What a bunch of nonsense if we're
being used as a test case. The mayor Karen Bass failed.
She failed miserably. So let's address some of the lies.
Trump has the authority to nationalize the National Guard, or
to federalize the National Guard and use them for priorities

(12:17):
that he fit based on certain circumstances. Gavin Newsom filed
a lawsuit saying no, and a district court supported him,
and then the appeals court, the Ninth Circuit, very liberal
appeals court, quickly overturned that and said, yes, that Trump
had the authority. So did he seize power? Now it's
a power that he already had. It's a power that

(12:38):
he already had. So he just used the power that
he had to make sure that his federal officers were
safe in LA, is safe in California because Mayor Karen
Bass that one of her very first statements when ICE
came here to LA was we must fight Ice. We

(12:58):
must fight Trump's efforts to deport people. She used those
words he didn't use. She used those words. And of
course that very first day ICE was doing some operations
and they were tacked in LA. Most people don't recognize
and I'll say it over again, I know we sit
it in the bass. We have they have a quick
action network of leftists that will show up at the
drop of the hat to protest anything that's going on.

(13:21):
We've experienced it. The Elie County Shares from the LPA
have experienced that. We know they're organized. Jim McDonald, the
chief of LPD, talked about this the very night this
was happening. Even he said it was getting out of hand.
So where the National Guard needed, Yes, they were needed
to protect the federal officers so they can do their job. Yes,
they were needed to protect the federal building because LAPD

(13:42):
was not able to on the first day. But more importantly,
their political leaders have demonstrated they have no desire to
do that, and that's the real problem. That's the real problem.
The governor Mayor Karen bass And made it very clear
they do not want to assist ice at all, and

(14:02):
they leave the federal authorities on their own being assaulted.
And let's be fair, let's be clear here. It wasn't
that just a few days ago some guy took a
shot at federal officers. And they're doing this because of
the rhetoric being used by our politicians that support the violence,
support the mayhem, and support the disruption of federal officers.

(14:23):
And I wasn't going to say this, but I guest
to remind everybody the president of the Service Service International
Employees Union seven hundred and fifty thousand members, who has
given donations to every single every single councilmen and the
mayor and board of supervisors, and most of the politician

(14:44):
democratic politicians in state government. He's given his organizations given
donations to all of them. He also his organization supported Prop.
Forty seven, reduced the penalties on many felonies in twenty fourteen.
They supported that, and when we tried to change that
Prop thirty six, which she did passion in California. His

(15:04):
organization resisted that he's a hardcore left at their organization
is hardcore left. And he was arrested on the very
first day obstructing Ice, and a statement came out indicating
exactly what he did. And he did, in fact obstructed Ice.
So we have the powerful elite unions and politicians resisting

(15:25):
federal afficts to just enforce federal law, which is why
Trump sent the National Guard here. So she's lied to you.
But one the other thing about her lie is we've succeeded.
Trump backed off, like somehow they intimidated Trump from backing off,
which is almost laughable. But the bottom line is they
took two thousand troops out. They still have another two

(15:46):
thousand National Guards straight here because he mobilized four thousand.
Noticed how she didn't say that in a little statement.
The other thing that still here is the seven hundred
Marines that came here too. She didn't say that either.
She just said we won because we came together. She
threw a victory party for success that really is not
a success because he's looking feckless and weak in the
face of a strong executive in the federal level, and

(16:09):
that is President Trump. You can hate Trump for some things,
but you know what, He's figured out how to use
levers of power to get his agenda done. And he's
cranking and he's doing a good job in that area.
And so I got to support him in that. And
we got to call out Mayor Baths for her clear
effort to lie. And we certainly got to call out
Gavin Newsom's lies. And I'll be doing that over the

(16:29):
next several shows just because it'll be a lot of
fun to call out his lives. I've had to live
with them. You should know about him. Hey, So the
least segment is over with, do me favorite lyad some
comments and you know, hey, I want to make sure
that you follow us on Rumble, and like I said,
go to my Twitter page and follow me there as well.
But hey, let's bring on the sheriff from Peiris County, Washington,
Keith Swank. He is battling his local political leaders and

(16:54):
the state to be able to enforce immigration law. Hey, sheriff,
how you doing.

Speaker 2 (16:58):
I'm doing well. How are you good?

Speaker 1 (17:00):
I'm doing real good. So I always give my guests
the opportunity to talk about my lead segment. And it
sounds like it might be a little bit of Christian
fun for you to talk about what I talk What
do you think about what's going on in LA and
news and Karen bass Any comments, it's.

Speaker 6 (17:16):
The same thing that's going on here. Right, we're in
Washington State. We just try to outd you try to
go more far to the left. And actually in the
last election, every state in the Union went a little
either farther to the right, a little bit towards the right,
except for us, who went farther left. And now the
Democrats have a super majority in Olympia. There is radical

(17:36):
and crazy here as they are in California.

Speaker 2 (17:39):
I mean, just as bad.

Speaker 6 (17:39):
They have complete control and ultimately they want to be
able to appoint the sheriffs and then they own everything
here and your whole being and your whole life.

Speaker 1 (17:50):
Then, yeah, you know, I noticed that I actually had
a mathematician. He agreed to do an analysis of all
the Soros funded counties if they had a Sorrow's fund
at DA. Now, how did that did that shift farther
to the right towards Trump than other counties that didn't
other big counties that didn't have Soros DA's and twenty

(18:12):
seven of the twenty eight did exactly that. They were like,
on average one point seven more towards Trump than the
state they were in. But you're the only one that
went to the other direction. It was Washington State. I
think it was I think Seattle, whatever the county Seattle's in,
I think that was the only one that went the
other direction. Yeah, So what is going on there? That

(18:34):
is Is it just the money interest up there that
is controlling the politics up there? Because it's it's curious
to me. Twenty years ago there were a lot of
former retired cops from La County, sheriffes from LP. They
would go up to Washington and Oregon. Now they're fleeing
to idahol in Montana and Arizona. They won't go up there.
I think they're even flaying those places. So what is

(18:54):
going on in Washington?

Speaker 6 (18:56):
Washington State, there hasn't been a repub Look governor since
nineteen eighty. It's been going to the left, to the left,
to the left, and continue on, and people talk about
how elections are stolen and whatnot.

Speaker 2 (19:09):
And you know, I.

Speaker 6 (19:12):
Never trust what the Democrats do, what the left does,
and probably there has been cheating, but the fact of
the matter is there. So it's so radical here to
the left that the oppression that's here that people who
are normal citizens they're leaving the state, which then makes
it even more radical for those of us stay here.
We have to fight that. So that's just what's been
going on. I've been involved politics for a long time.

(19:35):
I see it going and people say, oh, there's cheating
all the time, and I said, well, there might be,
but if they were really cheating, they would have cheated,
so I would lose and I won, you know. So
it's it's just a really bad place to be. It's
just terrible, and I'm fighting back the best I can.

Speaker 1 (19:52):
Well, let's let's address a couple of things. I want
to get into your background. But before you that, you
brought up an interest as a subject that is of
interest me because that's going on here in California too,
and that is to take away the power of the sheriff,
get to where they can appoint sheriffs or at least
have significance, say in whether that sheriff stays in office.
They're trying to dilute the power of the sheriff here

(20:13):
and they're doing it up there as well. Just explain
your position. So your constitutional officer, what authority do you have?
And now as the sheriff, and you know why do
they want to take it away from you?

Speaker 6 (20:26):
Well, I'm in a fight about that right now because
I say, I'm a constitutional office and the executive and
the prosecuting attorney of Pierce County and the prosecutors. My
legal advisor says, yes, but not really, because we're a
charter county. There's seven charter counties in Washington State. Not
to bore everybody listening here with it. A charter is
the constitution of the county. So when the charter was

(20:48):
passed in Pierce County in nineteen eighty, it gave the
executive oversight over the sheriff. But the sheriff was appointed then,
and then in two thousand and six the sheriff returned
to be elected. And so the executive believes that the
language that was written in nineteen eighty still pertains to
me and that I'm an executive department. And the prosecutors said, oh, yeah,

(21:12):
you're an executive department. And I said, well, if I'm
executive department, then that means that the executive could fire me. Right, Well, no, no, no,
he can't fire you.

Speaker 2 (21:20):
You've been elected.

Speaker 6 (21:21):
I said, well, that's not how it works then, right,
I'm not a of the executive.

Speaker 2 (21:25):
I am an executive department or office.

Speaker 6 (21:28):
So one of the things I did right away to
make sure they understood was we were the Pierce County
Sheriff's Department. So January first, I changed this back to
the Pierce County Sheriff's Office so people understood it's an
elected position. So been batting with that since the beginning
of the year, and then this year we have an
election for the Charter Review Commission, so it's a whole

(21:53):
bunch of people going to be elected to that. We
have to get the right people elected so that they
will protect the office of the sheriff and make some
corrections in the charter to make sure everybody understands if
the sheriff is independent. I mean, the people here in
Pierce County as it stands right now, they want to
elect their sheriff.

Speaker 2 (22:10):
They don't want him appoint it.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
Yeah, I think one of the things that I think
is critical, and you know we've had we had our
last sheriff is a bit of a Maverick Alex ban
Wave and now he's the onely whom pointed me to achieve.
And he pushed back a little bit. I mean he
was he was to the left politically, so this was
like a family viewed as the way I kind of
explained that they're all left. They just don't like each other. Right.

(22:33):
But he tried to push back a little bit, and
they hated that, and they just they put more systems,
more laws in place so that they can try and
control him. But here's the thing about an independent sheriff.
When the emperor's not wearing any clothes, and the sheriff
is independent, elected, he gets to say that, right, he
can say he or she, they get to say it.

(22:53):
When we're going down the wrong path on criminal justice reform,
the sheriff can say, oh, Contrera, I don't believe this.
And here's why, Right, that's why it's important to have
this independent voice, because you get locked up with these leftists,
you know, and they don't like anybody stepping out. Right,
nobody's stepping out. That's why it's important to have the
elected sheriff because and the other thing, the sheriff is
the most visible form of executive government. I mean, your guys,

(23:15):
your deputies are the most visible form of executive government
on the streets every day, and so they know what's
going on with the people, which is what makes it
so important. That's how I see it. I don't know
if you agree with that.

Speaker 6 (23:27):
No, I agree with that. We are the most visible.
We're out there every day. In me, the sheriff of
Pierce County, I'm the most visible elected official in Pierce County.

Speaker 2 (23:37):
Also, I mean I'm doing well.

Speaker 6 (23:39):
I'm I'm doing interviews every day about things going on here,
especially regarding ice in my position there. And then my
feud with the prosecuting Attorney's office, right my legal advisor
quote unquote who's giving me advice that is not good
advice and she's wrong about it, and I want my
own attorney, and then they file.

Speaker 2 (23:58):
An injunction against the attorney's going to represent me.

Speaker 6 (24:00):
So I'm one of these people in America who's not
allowed to have my own attorney. Imagine that I'm not
allowed to have my own attorney who was going to
work for me for free. I'm not allowed to have
that attorney. That's what I'm going on here. That's law fair,
that's what the left does, and so I'm fighting that
not just for Keith Swank, but for future sheriffs and

(24:24):
for the people and citizens of Pierce County so they
can have a say and who the sheriff is and
what the sheriff does. They elected me. I had positions.
They know what they are.

Speaker 1 (24:35):
Yeah, Hey for the audience. So the folks are watching
us on Rome. But you can see the bio page
for Sheriff Swank at the bottom of the screen.

Speaker 2 (24:45):
Here.

Speaker 1 (24:45):
It's basically www dot PIERRISCOUNTYWA dot gov slash one two
one two six, slash meet your Sheriff, basically meet dash
your dash sheriff. So go there you can see his
bio and what it's all about. Out now, I have
been looking at your political fight or your your legal fight,
and it is interesting. So I know you're not a

(25:05):
legal expert, so but I'll ask you an opinion. Do
you think that the attorney that the county is providing
you sees their legal opinion is seen through the lens
of the political priorities of the board that you serve.
I don't know what they call on board of superrises here.
I got to ask that is that what you think
is going on. Is this just bad advice or is

(25:27):
advice that is driven by political priorities for other elected officials.

Speaker 6 (25:31):
I don't think the county council really has too much
to say. And it's more of what the prosecutor says.
And you know, I didn't pick I didn't pick this
attorney that she appointed to me. He's doing okay job,
but he's not what I wanted. It's the fight's not
what I wanted to be. It's more of a hey,

(25:51):
let's try to get along. We'll try to work things
out and try to come to an agreement here and
maybe we can compromise a little bit here. And oh,
by the way, the execut you have can tell you this.
I don't want that. I want this to go to
court and I want it to be ruled on in
a court of law. But I'm unable to get an attorney.
My appointed attorney won't bring that forward. I can't get

(26:13):
my own attorney, so therefore I can't bring anything in
front of the judge. And people say to me all
the time, well, just sue the prosecutor, and I have
to repeat this so everybody knows I would. I'm not
allowed to Can you imagine that I'm not allowed to
bring on the elected sheriff of the largest elected sheriff
county in Washington State, the fifty ninth largest in America,

(26:34):
a million people, and I can't have an attorney.

Speaker 2 (26:36):
Are you serious? Yes, I'm serious, I can't have one.

Speaker 1 (26:39):
Okay, So let's let's frame this, I think for our
radio audience and every week. So you are facing a
constitutional issue, the power of the sheriff versus the power
of the legislature to oversee or the executive, the county
executive to oversee you. And you're challenging their assumption based
upon two laws that are conflicting, and they won't give
you your attorney that will fight that challenge. Does that

(27:01):
summarize it to some degree?

Speaker 2 (27:03):
Absolutely summarizes it? Yes?

Speaker 1 (27:06):
All right, Well you know this. So the stay as
elected official, he's doing his job, he's reading the law,
he's upholding the constitutional and he's trying to buy it
by the rule of law. And we have a conflict
in the law. And they don't want that conflict of
race because that because I have to suspect. I'm not
a lawyer either, I suspect since the newer law two

(27:26):
thousand and six brought back to the elected sheriff that
would supersede the older law nineteen eighty. Right, that's how
it kind of works in law.

Speaker 2 (27:33):
Right, I would think.

Speaker 6 (27:35):
So, yes, you know, one of the things that's going on,
the executive issues executive orders, and he's says I have
to abide by them. The latest executive One of the
latest executive orders is I am not allowed to enter
into any agreements with any federal agency, including law enforcement agencies,

(27:59):
no matter the host. So it could be free as
an example, I mean without his without the executive approving it.
And as an example, that means, you know how we
have memorandum of understanding with like THEBI and we work
together for like kidnapping and for bank robbery. I'm not
allowed to enter into an agreement, a cooperative agreement with

(28:21):
them to work together to make our community safer. I'm
not allowed to enter into agreement with the US marshals.
I'm not even talking ice here with the DEEA with
the ATF, according to the executive, without his permission. And
I told the prosecutor he's not allowed to do that.
I'm independently elected and I am the chief law enforcement

(28:42):
officer of the county, and she said to me, no.

Speaker 2 (28:44):
No, he can do that.

Speaker 6 (28:46):
That's when when I said I want my own attorney. Well,
I am your attorney, was the reply. Right, So I'm
dealing with that. But just so that you know and
your listeners know, I'm going to enter into those agreements anyhow.
I'm not asking for I'm going to do it. And
then the prosecutor said to me, well, if you do that,
you'll you'll be violating his executive order. And I said, okay,

(29:07):
then what happens. Is he going to arrest me? Is
he going to fire me?

Speaker 2 (29:13):
No?

Speaker 6 (29:14):
Because I mean I'm elected. He can't fire me. He's
not my boss, so I'm not really what can he do?

Speaker 1 (29:20):
Right, Well, he'll have to take He'll have to take
you to court to put an adjunction on and then
you'll have to put.

Speaker 2 (29:25):
An injunction on me.

Speaker 6 (29:26):
And I want to do that because I want to
see but judge will say, you, sheriff, are not allowed
to work with the FBI. I want that to happen,
or say no, executive mellow, you're wrong, he can.

Speaker 2 (29:38):
Work with the FBI or whatever, right, yeah.

Speaker 1 (29:41):
Yeah, the way you know, I'm looking at you and
I'm thinking, Okay, this guy is probably in my generation,
and here's what I have to because I you see,
there's a lot of senior executives where they're chief level
or assistant sheriff level in big departments, or you the sheriff.
The there's a time, there's a point in time when

(30:01):
you have to stop playing it safe. You're at you're
at the end of the road. You have the position.
You you swore an oath and you are abiding by
your oath and you're challenging those things that you know
are wrong and men and women have to stand up
and you are in the position doing it, and that's
what you're doing it. So we got to talk about

(30:22):
ICEO so they won't let is the primary reason for
that goal is because they don't want you working with ICE,
and they just plank make it a blanket. You can't
work with the FBI, you can't work with the DEA
because they don't want to say you can't work with ICE.
Is that what you think is going on? I mean,
that's what it looks like to me. Is that what
I don't even know and I've figured this one out is.

Speaker 6 (30:41):
Really yeah, right, it's really TDS what really it is
they hate Trump so bad that they're not going to
work and get into any any contracts with the federal government.
They are risking hundreds of millions of dollars of funding,
which I don't think we should steal money from other
people across the country and then bring it here, but
giving us our money back is good for us to

(31:03):
use for law enforcement or our public works or whatever.
They're risking all of that because they hate Trump so bad,
and then they learnt as sue him and say you
can't have conditions on this, X, Y and Z.

Speaker 1 (31:14):
Right.

Speaker 6 (31:14):
So that's what's really going on here, is that they
hate him. Well, in addition to that, they don't want
me working with ICE. In twenty nineteen, the Democrats Olympia
passed the Keep Washington Working Act, which is Keep Illegal
Criminal Illegal Aliens in Our Communities Act Right of twenty nineteen,
which says we law enforcement can't cooperate with ICE or

(31:36):
any federal agencies. They say, oh, but we didn't say
we say you can't you interfere with them? Well, yeah, whatever,
but you can't help them out or anything like that
at all. So and I want I want to have
that challenging court. Also, the prosecutor says it's a lawful
it's lawful what they passed.

Speaker 2 (31:55):
I said, no, it's not.

Speaker 6 (31:57):
I said, in my opinion, it violates the supremacy clause.
But of course I'm not an attorney. But it doesn't
matter because my attorney disagrees.

Speaker 2 (32:04):
With them anyhow.

Speaker 6 (32:05):
Right, So I want my own attorney that can file
a case and we can march this on through the
court system.

Speaker 2 (32:11):
That's how I want to do.

Speaker 1 (32:13):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, And I obviously I think that's the
right path. But let's let's talk about the real consequences
of not working with ice, not working with the DEA.
So you were a captain in Seattle Police Department, So
I'm sure you're familiar with the increase in overdose staffs
of fentanyl from probably twenty ten until you left and
went to Pierce County. I'm sure you're having the same

(32:34):
problem with Piers County. But we saw a dramatic increase
in overdose staff due to fentanyl. And you know, it's evil,
you know twin sister methamphetamine. Right, it's gone out of
control with the with the criminal justice reform and the
failure to stop people at the border, the open borders. Right,
that's the downside of not working with ICE and not

(32:56):
working with the DEA. Right.

Speaker 6 (32:58):
Yes, they're they're bringing these narcotics into our country. The fentanyl,
the precursor drugs come from like China. They make it
all together in Mexico, than they bring it up the
I five corridor right past probably where you were working at,
you know, all right up here to Pierce County. They
are trafficking drugs to trafficking people, and they're killing our

(33:19):
community members, right, They're giving them drugs and killing them,
and they don't care because all it's about is money.
I told I was at a meeting today. I told
people this, and I know you know this. We have
more people in slavery in America now.

Speaker 2 (33:34):
Than we've ever had in the history of our country.

Speaker 6 (33:37):
And people go, oh, no, because they're used to this,
which they saw in history books.

Speaker 2 (33:41):
But it's going on.

Speaker 6 (33:42):
We have sexual slaves, we have people that are physical
labor in slavery. They are they owe somebody money. They're
working there the rest of their life or until they
died to pay them back. And when I explain that
to you, I'm like, this is all related. The cartels
are smuggling people in drugs in this country, tree to
kill our people and to enslaved people there. Right, that's

(34:04):
what it's all about. If they're selling goop, they're selling people.

Speaker 1 (34:08):
Yeah, I don't I don't understand why people can't understand
when you have to pay the cartel ten or fifteen
thousand to get across the border. Uh, and then you
got to you got you know, a tail. Basically you're
an a dentured servant, you know, just like they did
when when we formed our country. You had to pay
a lot of money and then you had to work
a farm for seven or eight years before you could free.

(34:30):
Now they get indentured servitude. But it's to the cartels
and their main their main business is slinging drugs and
probably secondarily sexual slavery. I mean, we just did a
raid in Ventura County. The largest plot farm are illegal
plot farm in California and fourteen underage, unsupervised miners are

(34:52):
working the and all of our local well Karen Bass
and know they're all talking about oh we could do
you know, they're not talking about the real issue. You
the children are here uncompanied, they were brought over, they
were allowed to come over by the Biden administration, and
they're getting sexually exploited and their labor is being exploited
for the benefit of maybe some legitimate business, but certainly

(35:12):
for the cartels.

Speaker 2 (35:15):
Yeah, I know.

Speaker 6 (35:16):
I speak with somebody today earlier. They said, you know,
it's just that's just an isolated currence. I go, no,
it's saying I say it because it's been brought to
the tension because they've been rescued. It's going on all
over the place, all over the place, and you know,
I will find more of that. You'll hear more about that,
and we share so if we work together with them,
we'll find that too. I know it's going on in

(35:36):
our communities here in Washington State.

Speaker 1 (35:40):
Yeah, it's just one. On that one. They did have
warrants that they were serving. You know, they never tell
you that. The media here's the other part. So the
media is not telling the whole story. They're not what
the cause right up and particularly here in Los Angeles County,
Do you have any independent media that is picking up
your story and telling the truth.

Speaker 6 (36:00):
There are some, there's smaller news agencies that are picking
it up. And so you know, anytime somebody any news
wants to give me the opportunity to speak.

Speaker 2 (36:12):
I speak. I know they twist things.

Speaker 6 (36:14):
And get things out there, but I'm going out to
speak on behalf of like against illegal immigration, against the
drug cartels, against all these things that are going on
in our communities, for people to understand where we are
and what's going on and what we need to do
to make our community safer. So I speak anytime I
get a chance to let people know about that. And

(36:34):
of course I have my haters that want to come
out and you know, harass me. But I have community
meetings like this Saturday, I have breakfast with the sheriff,
right and one Saturday a month, people come out and
meet me and I get to know them and tell
them about what's going on. I'm going to a community
meeting tonight with two or three hundred people in it.
You know, there'll be people in there who are all

(36:55):
for illegal immigration, and they'll be yelling at me there
about go just make our community safer. And I'm like,
that's the whole point here, you know, our community safer.
So yeah, I have that. But anytime I get an opportunity,
like I'm speaking with you, hoping to get my message
out right, the message of being safe communities, about how
we should be working with ice, how the sheriff should

(37:17):
be independent, and how people should be electing the sheriff
to represent them in law enforcement.

Speaker 1 (37:23):
Yeah. I just my producer just advised me that they
had a seven point two earthquake. That's a big one
up near Alaska. So hopefully the folks up in Alaska
are doing wow. Yeah, that's a big one, right, And
I was here for the Northward's quake, trust me that
that one was I think six point four, So seven
point two that's a big quake. So I hope everybody's
doing okay up there. But I want I wanted one

(37:44):
more issue on this or one more point on this,
and we'll get over to your experience over there in Seattle, PD.
And that is the community's work, now you mentioned it.
When I was working, there was a lot of this
anti police stuff going on. But when I would go
visit the stations that I was responsible be where I
had six stations I was responsible for as the chief,
and I would go to all the community events, met

(38:04):
with all the city council folks, met the mayor and
the city managers, and they loved us. The hate that
was printed in the newspaper that the small portion of
the community that left us were thrown out there about
the police just wasn't reflective in the wider community. So
when you get out there beyond just the gadflies that

(38:25):
follow you around to harass you, are you feeling up
community support for your position? Are they listening to your message?
Are you able to have an impact? Are you swaying folks?

Speaker 6 (38:35):
Yes, I'm hearing from people. I'm hearing lots of things.
People come up to me and say, hey, I just
want to let you know that I've been seeing sheriff
deputies come through such area. I never saw them here before.
I feel safe for seeing.

Speaker 2 (38:51):
Them drive through the area.

Speaker 6 (38:52):
We have some islands around here, you know, because we're
surrounded by water that we policed, and I've been over
to the island a couple of times. Ever seen the
sheriff they're ever in the whole history of you know
that the people can remember, and so we're doing things
like that, getting out into the community and listening to them.
We had some fracture relationships. You know, we're diverse. We

(39:15):
have an urban area, we have a very rural area, too, Right,
So we're out there in the communities meeting all these people.
People's what's important to people out in the country is
different to what's important to people in the city more so, right,
So we're getting out there meeting all of them and
helping them out and letting them understand what my mission is,
what my values are, and we're having a good response

(39:37):
about it. Just real quickly. I had naysayers, people that
were angry, angrily yelling at me before, right when I
first started doing these breakfasts with the sheriffs, was these
meetings because I've only eve been the sheriffs since January,
and so these people, they would come to these meetings
I have to yell at me about you know, I'm
a racist, I'm a KKK, you know, all this stuff,

(39:59):
and then I'd answer the questions, you know, calmly and politely.
Anyhow fast forward, they keep coming to my means. But
guess what, They're less angry at me now, right, and
we can actually have a conversation. So they might not
vote for me, they might not agree with my policies,
but at least they're not yelling at me and standing
up and you know, yelling everything and when I say

(40:20):
what I believe in and I give them examples, they
actually listen to me. So I think that's a big
headway right there, because these are people who they are
full of hate. I'll tell you that, you know. So, yeah,
we're making we're making strides.

Speaker 1 (40:34):
Well, all I could say is you got to do
it one meeting at a time, and you're also your staff, communilations, offices,
all that. They got to be out there, they got
to be engaged and if they're doing the right thing.
I think that's why the border supervisors kind of hit
here as they hate it because we have the tentacles
in the community that they just would love to have
and they just don't have it right. And you know,

(40:55):
right now we don't have an assertive sheriff. It's kind
of just going along, which is sad. But we got
a race coming up here. Maybe the candidates who are
running against them will push him on some of these issues.
Well let's get into so you spent how many years
with Seattle Police Department thirty three thirty three and then
you went on to be the sheriff just recently there

(41:17):
and you left at the rank of captain. As I understand,
right and you were in charge of their SWAT team
or they probably had a political correct term. Did they
call it swat team or they call it something else.

Speaker 2 (41:27):
We still called it swat, Yes we did.

Speaker 1 (41:29):
Oh you're not enlightened enough. Then you got to call
it community engagement team or something like that, you know, yeah, right, right, okay,
So all right, two points are Trump anti Trump point
one versus anti Trump point two point zero, which we're
we're seeing now it's manifesting itself now around the country
where we have this violence, certainly here in LA but

(41:50):
Seattle was kind of ground zero after the George Floyd
riots for a lot of these protests. I mean, we
had them here, but I think LAPD and the Share
prety much shut it down pretty good. But you had
politicians there in Seattle that kind of let it fester
and grow. And then they took over a certain area
of downtown and called it Chopper Chas whatever, an autonomous

(42:12):
zone that cops didn't go in. Can you explain that
experience for the city of Seattle, what you saw and
then what was what ended up being the problems, the
crime and all that stuff. Just talk about what happened.

Speaker 6 (42:23):
Sure, Capitol Hill in Seattle is where our East Precinct
is located, and that's why I spent my first fifteen
years as a patrol officer. Before I was ever promoted,
I spent fifteen years there. I worked cars for eleven
years and worked bicycle patrol for four years, so that
was my home. Whenever the Summer of Love started in
twenty twenty four, that's what the Mayor Durkin called it

(42:46):
was the Summer of Love. All the protests started up there.
That's where and that's where lots of the protests work.
I worked on bicycle squad for four years and handled
hundreds of protests, violent ones and not violent ones. So
everybody got together there, meeting there and having their protests there,
and the crowds got larger and larger and larger and
more and more violent, and the chief of police at

(43:09):
the time did not allow us to quell the disturbances.

Speaker 2 (43:14):
They didn't allow us to do anything about it.

Speaker 6 (43:16):
We had to just put up barricades try to keep
people from coming across the barricade, and we turned over
six or eight square blocks to these people, which they
they made themselves independent, so they were a country. For
a few days. There were a country inside of a state,
and they this country had the highest murder rate in

(43:37):
the world because they killed two people there. They had
the highest rate rate in the world, the highest step rate.
But they were going to govern themselves and everything. And
this the mayor, the incompetent mayor that we had in
the in the chief who was over her head, and
all she wanted to do is do what the mayor's bidding,
was allowed this to happen. And I was there at time.

(44:00):
I had night security there, you know, the commander of
the forces at nighttime, making sure they didn't do anything.
Part I got there at nighttime. One day, they nailed
door shut on the precinct the protesters that the rioters
did and tried to set the building on fire where
the cops are inside. So they got the cops out,
and the mayor said, why don't we just give the

(44:21):
precinct to the community. They could have that as a
community center. Then they were seriously saying where can we
put the cops at, Well, why don't we split themb
them up between the other precincts, because the community really
doesn't want us here and so it might be good
to give it over to them. This was the stuff
that was going on, and in between the mayor and
the chief of police and the chief of the fire department,

(44:43):
they were going through sending text messages back and forth
that they ultimately deleted against the law down the road
lawsuit file.

Speaker 2 (44:51):
But they an't get in trouble for it.

Speaker 6 (44:52):
All this stuff was going on and it needed to
be stopped. And people say to me all the time, like, well,
you were a captain and you were in charge of swats,
why didn't you just end it?

Speaker 2 (45:03):
And that's a really good question. And I'd tell people that.

Speaker 6 (45:07):
Captain Keith Swank had no problems with disobeying orders and
quelling the disturbance. I could have cleaned that place up
in no time and I would have done it no time, but.

Speaker 2 (45:18):
To get people to follow me to do that.

Speaker 6 (45:22):
When they were told of the disobey and order, they
will be fired, They will lose their job, they won't
be able to take care of the family, they will
lose their retirement.

Speaker 2 (45:29):
So I didn't. I was old enough. I could have.

Speaker 6 (45:32):
They could have fired me. And plus I you know
I could have. I would have gone because I want
to do the right thing. But so that would made
it difficult, right but ultimately down the road we kept
pressuring them, We like saying, like have meetings, like we
need to do something about this. We have people that
are getting killed and raped here. We have to save lives.
We didn't even get in when the people got shot.

(45:54):
They hauled them out themselves, right, I mean, what what
is that The police don't get in to do anything
to make arrest or safe anybody. So finally, after several
days and the mayor summer of love wasn't so lovely anymore,
then she decided that we were going to be allowed.

Speaker 2 (46:12):
To clear the clear the area.

Speaker 6 (46:15):
And so on the morning that we came up with
our plan to do it at five am. Because you know, rioters,
if they're sleeping, they're sleeping in mommy and Daddy's basement, right,
or else they're sleeping someplace because it's early in the morning,
they just don't get up to like noon time to
start protesting and whatnot. So at five in the morning,

(46:36):
we got the SWAT guys all loaded up, all geared up,
and they meant business. And when we when they got
out and we went online and started moving through the area,
guess what all these people did that were left, They
ran away and we were clear in ten minutes, they
all ran away. Then we cleared it back up and
turned it back over to the citizens of Seattle. But

(46:58):
that's the stuff that goes on, that's a thought process
here with these leftists, and you know, just the way
they think about it and whatnot. And then they do
all this, like the mayor and the chief do all
this line covering up, trying to get out of the
committed and they did. They the city got sued, but

(47:20):
they didn't get sued individually. They didn't get held accountable.
They didn't have to go to jail or anything that
at all. And So when I was when I was
the captain and then I ended up retiring there, and
when I decided that was going to run for sheriff,
I said, I'm going to do the right thing. I'm
not going to worry about it. I'm going to tell
you right now, I don't have a riot control team.

(47:42):
We're working on that, but I have I have two
hundred and fifty deputies that if they try that stunt
downtown Tacoma and the mayor says, it's okay there, we're
going to clean it up. We're going to fix it
I'm going to bring everybody in and we're going to
clean it up. We're not going to allow that to
happen in Pierce County. I don't care where it is
in Pierce County. I'm in charge of keeping the peace

(48:04):
in the county, not in the unincorporated county or whatever. Right,
so it won't happen here. People understand we're not going
to put up with that, and so we'll make sure that.
But it was just crazy when you think about you
talk to normal people throughout the country.

Speaker 2 (48:18):
They're like, you did what they did?

Speaker 4 (48:20):
What?

Speaker 2 (48:20):
They don't even understand. I was appalled politics here are.

Speaker 1 (48:25):
I was appalled. I couldn't believe it. I could not
believe it because I mean, it happened here in LA.
We had the protests, but LAPD was on their game
and we supported them and they did a good job. Right,
they took care of business. I don't know if that
would happen in her bass. It didn't happen on her
bass recently. But to take over, they try to take
over UCLA and ultimately they cleaned that up with a

(48:47):
lot of hand ringing though these oh sending the cops.
OH then complain about the cops seemed to the method here.
But I got to ask, because you know, I got
your perspective, I know how I feel about it. What
about the small businessinesses that we're stuck in that area
or adjacent areas that saw I drop in their businesses?
So did they experience vandalism with theft and all this

(49:07):
other stuff and a loss in business because nobody want
to walk through there.

Speaker 6 (49:10):
They did vandalism, theft, loss of business.

Speaker 2 (49:15):
Several of them went out of business.

Speaker 6 (49:16):
But listen, there are still businesses there that supported the riots, right,
I mean, so when that happens, I mean, what can
you say then? Okay, well you support the riot and
that's fine, and you know it's part of doing business
in this community, and so you can't speak sense into that.
But there are a lot of businesses that were really

(49:39):
affected by that that we're still seeing and feeling the
repercussions of that, and business are going out of business
all throughout Seattle on King County all the time now.
And I haven't been to Seattle for a while. I've
driven through it maybe a couple months ago on my wage.
In someplace, it's completely graffiti every square inchlong the freeway downtown.

Speaker 2 (50:01):
It's like Bay Route.

Speaker 6 (50:02):
It's terrible. It was, And I know we just say
because we're biased about where we come from, but it
really was a beautiful city when I became a police
officer in nineteen ninety and it was a beautiful city
for a long time. It was really a beautiful city.
But it's really different.

Speaker 1 (50:18):
I visited with my daughter probably fifteen years ago to
look at campuses, and I loved University of Washington. They're
downtown location, beautiful. I got to ask, how is it
safe there? Is it looking okay that part of downtown Seattle?
Because I have a family member that works that you dub,
so that's so I'm asking.

Speaker 6 (50:34):
I don't think it's very safe there at all. I
don't think the city of Seattle safe at all. I
think the police officers want to do that, but their
hands are tied and their staffing is not good because
who wants to work for some agency where they literally
say the council says I hate you, you know, and

(50:55):
you're killers and all of this stuff. So no, I
don't think it's I mean, I don't think it's safe
right along the University of Washington where that's at, there's
all kinds of drug addicts and all kinds of crime
going on their property. Crimes, there's robberies, things like that.
But if you're inside the campus itself, it's better off.

(51:15):
But yeah, outskirts of the campus dangerous.

Speaker 1 (51:21):
Yeah, okay, well that's terrible. I have to help to
let my family member know. She actually runs the oncology
department there at the University of Washington.

Speaker 6 (51:28):
Okay, well, I mean this is the way I say,
get a gun, I know how to use it, carry
it with you. It's better to be judged by twelve
than carried by six, right, so I mean, I say.
And the other thing too, is especially here at Pierce County.
I tell people this all the time because you know
how lefty say no guns, right, Yeah, you need to

(51:50):
have a gun to protect yourself because we'll get there,
but it might be a long time till we get there,
especially if you're out in the boonies. And if you're dead,
we'll do a really good investigation of who killed you
and hold them accountable. But you're still dead, right you know, so.

Speaker 1 (52:06):
You know, yeah, I agree. I got one more point
on Chaz though, I got. I got to ask when
you were clearing it out. Did the community, the people
who actually lived in that area and adjasent the area
come out to support you. I'm not talking the crazy leftists,
but I'm talking like the people who spent spent bank
to get a downtown of condo whatever, and now they
got all these lunatics that are destroying their neighborhood. Did

(52:27):
they come out and support you?

Speaker 6 (52:28):
Yeah, there are people because there's high rises there with condos.
There are people there that knew what was going on,
and they were leaning out the windows yelling thank you
to us.

Speaker 2 (52:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (52:36):
So even in Seattle, there are some normal people, not
very many, but the normal people came out.

Speaker 2 (52:42):
Thank you, and they appreciate it. I appreciated us. Yeah.
But you know you talked about you guys got to
handle that in La. LA's to the left, so you
but you still got to handle that. You didn't allow
Chaz chop zone to happen there. It wasn't allowed it
to happen.

Speaker 6 (52:57):
So you could just imagine how crazy we are to
the left up here, right.

Speaker 1 (53:02):
I mean, well, I cross across. I crossed that up
in my list of places to retire to, that's for sure.

Speaker 2 (53:08):
And then come on, are left in California. That's our
goal here. Their goal, not my goal, but you know
that's the goal here.

Speaker 1 (53:13):
So yeah, all right, Ay. Sheriff Keith Swank from Pierce County, Hey,
thank you for joining me. It's been a great conversation
and I'd love to have you back in the future.

Speaker 6 (53:22):
Right.

Speaker 1 (53:22):
If there's other sheriffs up there that are fighting the
good fight too, let me know and I'll put them
on as well. This show supports law enforcement. Brief You
with the Chief supports law enforcement and calls out foolish
public policies that hurts us all. So I want to
thank you. You're welcome to stick around for a debrief Keith,
and we'll talk a little bit after the show, Amanda.
I think we're at the end, and folks, thank you

(53:43):
for joining us with Briefing the Chief. Catch me next Wednesday.
I don't have a guest yet. I might go solo.
We'll see what's out there for me to talk about.
And thank you again, and we'll see you next week. Amanda.
You can take it away. Fiyfox