Residents urge county oversight of sheriff; opinions at council forum split

During the Community Forum segment of the Aug. 26 Pierce County Council meeting, several residents urged the council to consider an independent law enforcement oversight mechanism for the county’s elected sheriff, citing reporting and social media activity by Sheriff Keith Swank. Other members of the public spoke in support of the sheriff. Public commenters raising oversight concerns included Vicky Tamaru of University Place, who referenced news reporting about the sheriff’s travel and outreach to federal agencies, and asked the council to consider a permanent oversight program or ombudsman to address perceived gaps in accountability for an elected sheriff. Christy Gledhill of Gig Harbor urged the council to “prioritize creation of a new county level law enforcement oversight program” and said she had contacted the executive’s office about the topic; she also cited reporting that the sheriff had worked 21% of days since taking office and expressed concern about bias and accountability. Other speakers included Harry (HP) Hurd, who asked broader land-use and governance questions during public comment and expressed frustration over taxes and local planning, and Eric (pastor and resident) who spoke in support of Sheriff Swank and described the sheriff as accessible to the public. David Trout, Stuart Early and other public speakers had addressed conservation items earlier and were not part of this forum segment. Councilmembers did not take formal action on the oversight requests during the meeting. The council received public comment on the issue and several councilmembers later thanked speakers for participating; no specific committee referral or staff direction on sheriff oversight was recorded in the meeting minutes during this session.