Pierce County Sheriff Keith Swank called out the Washington State Patrol on social media Thursday after the statewide law enforcement agency apologized for interrupting the raising of the Pride flag at the state capitol.
Swank didn’t call out the State Patrol for disrupting the Wednesday ceremony. He said the agency should be “embarrassed” for apologizing in a post that explained why troopers marched through the ceremony and reiterated its mission to protect, defend and respect the rights of all.
“You should be embarrassed by this post,” Swank wrote on his X account. “Any WSP who wants to work for a real law enforcement organization should come work at the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.”
The post from the State Patrol read: “The Washington State Patrol offers our heartfelt apologies for disrupting the raising of the Pride Flag on Capitol Campus today. The team leading our cadets to their graduation ceremony did not adequately communicate about the alternate route planned around the crowd.”
The post went on: “It was never our intention to disrupt an important community event. Our motto is “Service with Humility,” and our mission is to protect, defend and respect the rights of all. We apologize for our misstep on what should be a great day for us all as we celebrate Pride.”Cadets with the Washington State Patrol interrupted the Pride event on Wednesday, June 4, on their way to their graduation ceremony. WSP later issued a formal apology.
Swank did not immediately return a phone call and text message Thursday asking if he would explain why the State Patrol should be embarrassed by the post.
Chris Loftis, a spokesperson for the State Patrol, declined to comment on Swank’s comment.
The event was sponsored by the state’s LGBTQ commission and was attended by Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson and Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dave Upthegrove, the Olympian reported. Citing statistics showing a significant number of LGBTQ youth have considered suicide in the past year, Upthegrove — also a Democrat — told the newspaper that giving visibility to the LGBTQ community by raising the Pride flag shows people they can live full, meaningful lives.
At some point during the ceremony, two lines of troopers marched through the event instead of taking an alternate route around the crowd. Videos of the incident on social media caused some to speculate that the troopers had deliberately disrupted the event to intimidate the crowd.
In a written statement, Loftis said there was no intent to offend or distract from the event. He said it was a simple mistake, not any sort of statement.
“We had a miscommunication in our planning, and it led to us inadvertently disrupting another public event being held by citizens we are sworn to serve, protect, and respect,” Loftis wrote.
“We quickly and rightfully apologized to the impacted parties,” he added. “That was the right things to do as public servants, as a law enforcement agency, and as friends and neighbors.”
Swank has a track record of being provocative on social media. He once posted on X that a transgender legislator from Montana, Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr, was a man with mental health issues who should be called by her given male name. He’s also posted that men and women who pretend to be the opposite sex are “appropriating gender.”
Swank retired from the Seattle Police Department in 2023 as a captain after 33 years on the force. But his conduct on social media — denigrating trans people and defending the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol — led former Seattle Police Department Chief Sue Rahr to declare earlier this year that he would have been fired if he had stayed.
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