KIRO NEWSRADIO OPINION

‘He needs to make this right’: KIRO hosts question Pierce County Sheriff Swank’s integrity after false claim about 911 call

Jul 13, 2026, 4:01 PM | Updated: 4:05 pm

Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank recently detailed an incident on social media regarding a Charter Review Commission meeting where he said a woman called 911 to have people arrested who held views that opposed her own.

Following a review of the dispatch records, it turns out Swank’s claims were false, and the woman actually called to report that she was harassed in the parking lot.

KIRO host Ursula Reutin and KIRO fill-in host Angela Poe Russell questioned why Swank has yet to provide clarity on the situation and publicly set the record straight.

“She called 911 because she was scared,” Angela said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “He has not corrected the record despite the evidence that has shown what the reality was. How many of you encounter a headline and say, ‘Really? Someone called 911 over your views?’ I think it’s a reminder whenever you hear that thing that is either too good to be true or like, ‘Wow, that’s shocking,’ double-check it. Most people aren’t going to double-check.

“As a public figure, as the sheriff, considering the evidence, the actual call shows this was not true,” she continued. “He should have the integrity and go online to his followers and say, ‘I didn’t quite get this right.’ That concerns me because you want an elected official who has integrity, and he needs to make this right.”

Ursula points to a pattern of controversial statements from Swank

Ursula detailed many other occurrences where Swank had controversial statements arise online or at public events, such as referring to homeless people as transient hobos and saying that protesters should be called terrorists.

“Given his history, given what he does on social media, how he has talked on our show and other shows, what he has said while testifying in Olympia, do you think that an apology is coming?” Ursula asked.

“I won’t stay up late waiting,” Angela responded. “I hope it at least prompts us to be skeptical consumers of media, not cynical per se. Being able to check multiple sources before believing someone’s work, especially someone’s work with that history. That’s what really makes my heart ache: You have people in positions of power who are allowed to say whatever without being checked. That’s powerful and dangerous.”

Ursula noted that Pierce County will hold a vote that could remove Swank from his position if passed, but she simply wished for better from the county’s top law enforcement official.

“That’s how he gets a lot of his following,” Ursula said. “He says out loud what others may not feel comfortable saying. I just wish differently for Pierce County. Just to remind people, you get a vote to decide, so you will vote whether it should be an appointed or elected position. I just wish that this particular sheriff would be a sheriff for everybody.”

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.

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