‘Didn’t do himself any favors’: Former King County Sheriff reacts to Swank’s ‘confrontational’ testimony
Jan 17, 2026, 5:00 AM
Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank recently drew criticism after stating during testimony that he does not recognize state lawmakers’ authority and warned that thousands would surround the Capitol if officials attempted to remove him.
In light of Swank’s recent statements, former King County Sheriff John Urquhart stated that his behavior was “confrontational” and may hurt his perception with lawmakers down the road.
“It was pretty much over the top. I make it a practice not to criticize other sheriffs or other police chiefs, just something I do. But this was, this was unusual, to say the least,” Urquhart said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “How confrontational he was with this committee, very controversial testimony. I don’t think he did himself any favors or the citizens of Pierce County any favors.
“I would fall back on the advice my mother always gave me, don’t cut off your nose to spite your face, because at some point he’s going to need to come back to the legislature on things that are important to Pierce County, legislation he’d like to see passed, and he’s probably not going to get a very good reception,” he continued.
Being a Pierce County citizen, KIRO host Gee Scott asked if Urquhart had ever seen a sheriff act this way before, to which he replied he had not. Gee also asked if Swank’s actions as a sheriff should be concerning to citizens and potentially disrupt further legislation that affects law enforcement.
“Yeah, I think so. There is legislation that you, as a resident of Pierce County, might want passed when it comes to law enforcement, and you look to your law enforcement leaders, and he’s the only law enforcement leader that represents everybody, and he’s not going to be able to do that,” Urquhart responded. “He’s not going to be able to go and lobby the legislature and have them listen to him. It’s just human nature. If you don’t like somebody, you’re not going to listen to them. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a legislator or anything else.”
Watch the full discussion in the video above.
Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.
