Pierce County Sheriff Swank to Prosecutor Robnett: ‘You are my peril'
That demand, made Friday, led the county's elected prosecutor, Mary Robnett, to seek a judgment in Superior Court prohibiting the attorney, Joan Mell, from providing legal advice to Swank or other officials. According to Robnett, only the Prosecuting Attorney's Office can act as Swank's attorney.
'Joan K. Mell has unlawfully exercised the public office of the prosecuting attorney or deputy prosecuting attorney for the County of Pierce, State of Washington,' a copy of the complaint reads.
Robnett argued in part that Mell's legal advice about Swank cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) could expose the county to millions of dollars in potential liability. She said it's unlawful for county officials to cooperate with ICE.
The state's Keep Washington Working Act, a bipartisan law passed in 2019, limits law enforcement's ability to work with ICE. Adams County was sued by the state Attorney General's Office in March for allegedly helping federal authorities with immigration enforcement.
Superior Court Judge Susan Adams on Wednesday morning granted Robnett a temporary restraining order.
Adams found that Mell was making legal demands on Swank's behalf and that she wasn't authorized to do so, according to a copy of the order, which expires at the next court hearing June 13.
Mell, an attorney with law offices in Fircrest and Montana, was out of state at the time of the hearing. According to an email provided by Mell, she was notified of the hearing Tuesday evening via email. In a Wednesday-morning response, Mell objected to not being heard on the motion, and she said she wanted the opportunity to object to the case being litigated in front of a Pierce County judge, particularly one with ties to the Prosecuting Attorney's Office.
In a phone call with The News Tribune, Mell said she believed Robnett had incorrectly advised Swank and that Robnett was duty-bound as counsel to adhere to his requests, for example, challenging the Keep Washington Working Act, which Swank has called 'unconstitutional.' Mell said Robnett had failed to adhere to Swank's requests.
'Nothing she's doing is consistent with lawyering,' Mell said. 'Fundamental to lawyering is taking the direction from your client, figuring out a way to accomplish what your client wants you to accomplish and carrying out his objectives.'
Swank did not respond to a phone call Wednesday afternoon. Mell said he was out of the country and unavailable until June 8.
The breakdown of Swank's relationship with Robnett appeared to begin with an executive order issued by County Executive Ryan Mello earlier this month declaring that all contracts that accept federal funding would be subject to a thorough review, and that all departments and elected officials would need to designate someone to review the contracts.
Swank emailed Robnett on May 13, asking if Mello had the authority to impose an executive order on him and what would happen if he didn't abide by it, according to correspondence between Swank and Robnett filed in the court record.
Robnett responded the next morning that Mello had lawful authority because Swank's elected position was created by the Pierce County Charter, which makes his position an executive department subject to executive orders.
Swank disagreed and said he would be seeking legal advice elsewhere.
Why Swank was upset by the executive order seemed to baffle Robnett, and she cautioned him that he wasn't authorized to seek outside legal advice, saying he would be acting at his own 'peril.'
'The Executive order from yesterday did not really change anything,' Robnett wrote. 'I am a little confused about why this has struck such a nerve with you. I am an independently elected official and I am subject to the same contracting rules.'
Swank explained that if Mello could impose this order on him, it meant he would be subject to other orders and that Mello could tell him how to run his office.
'As far as 'my own peril,' you are my peril,' Swank said.
He told Robnett that he had asked the artificial-intelligence service ChatGPT the same question about Mello's authority over him, and it had a 'quite different response.'
'I have no faith in your counsel,' Swank wrote in the May 15 email. 'I believe that you are either incompetent or you are trying to sabotage my office.'
Swank added that he believed Robnett was trying to cause him undue stress, and that it was planned because Robnett wanted his opponent in the 2024 General Election for sheriff to win over him.
'You didn't want someone to upset the apple cart,' Swank said. 'You wanted a sheriff who would go along with the program and keep everything status quo.'
Robnett responded later that day, thanking Swank for spelling out his position and suggesting that they meet with Mello to discuss where each of them fit into county government under the charter.
About a week after Swank's email exchange with Robnett, Mell emailed Robnett, Mello and County Council Chair Jani Hitchen a demand for mediation under RCW 36.46.010, a state law that requires elected officials to attempt to work out a dispute before a lawsuit can be brought.
Mell signed the demand letter 'lawyer for Sheriff Keith Swank.' It said Swank had reached an impasse with the three officials on six issues: Sheriff's Office independence and personnel, professional recruiting, the Humane Society, independent representation and a County Council resolution affirming compliance with the Keep Washington Working Act.
In regard to the independence of the Sheriff's Office and its personnel, the letter claimed Mello could not require Swank to comply with any executive orders that conflict with Swank's authority to carry out the core functions of his office. It said the County Council's power over its personnel was limited to consenting to the number of deputies and other necessary employees.
'Sheriff Swank has the authority to adequately train his deputies,' the letter reads. 'Should he deem it necessary to obtain training outside the state to do so, the Executive may not prevent the Sheriff from achieving this core function.'
Of recruiting, the letter said Mello and the County Council had undermined Swank by using funds acquired by putting dollars specified to be used for recruitment by University Place in the general fund. The Sheriff's Office is contracted by University Place to provide them police services.
The letter also targeted the Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County's relationship with the Sheriff's Office, stating it depleted public safety dollars and was outside the purpose of the office. According to a 2018 report from the county, it contracted with the Humane Society for sheltering and licensing animals.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fewer than half of ICE arrests under Trump are convicted criminals
A woman cries after her husband is detained by federal agents during a mandatory immigration check-in in June in New York City. The Trump administration's arrests have been catching a smaller share of criminals overall, and a smaller share of people convicted of violent and drug crimes, than the Biden administration did in the same time frame last year. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Despite Trump administration rhetoric accusing Democrats of protecting violent criminals and drug-dealing immigrants, the administration's arrests have been catching a smaller share of criminals overall, and a smaller share of people convicted of violent and drug crimes, than the Biden administration did in the same time frame. While the Trump administration has caught more immigrants with convictions for drugs and violence, their share of the rising arrest numbers is smaller, as more people get swept up for minor traffic violations or strictly immigration crimes, according to a Stateline analysis. Forty percent of the nearly 112,000 arrests by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from Jan. 20 through late June were of convicted criminals. That's compared with 53% of the nearly 51,000 arrests for same time period in 2024 under the Biden administration. Trump's deportations could cost 6M jobs, report finds The share of people convicted of violent crime fell from 10% to 7% and drug crimes from 9% to 5%, according to a Stateline analysis of data from the Deportation Data Project. The project, led by attorneys and professors in California, Maryland and New York, collects and posts public, anonymized U.S. government immigration enforcement datasets obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests. Some Democratic states are among those with the highest share of violent criminals in this year's ICE arrests: Hawaii (15%), Vermont (13%), and California and Nebraska (12%) — while some of the lowest shares were in more Republican states: Maine (2%), and Alabama, Montana and Wyoming (3%). Immigration attorneys see an increased push to arrest and detain immigrants for any type of violation or pending charge as President Donald Trump pushes for higher arrest and detention numbers to meet his campaign promise for mass deportation. Trump officials have called for 3,000 arrests a day, far more than the current average of 711 as of June and 321 a day during the same time period under Biden. The majority of recent ICE detentions involve people with no convictions. That's a pattern I find troubling. – Oregon Republican state Rep. Cyrus Javadi Arrests have accelerated since about mid-May, when government attorneys began asking to revoke bail and arrest people who show up for court hearings after being released at the border, said Vanessa Dojaquez-Torres, practice and policy counsel for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, which represents more than 16,000 immigration attorneys. 'We're not completely sure what the reasoning or the goal is behind some of these policies, other than they want detention numbers up,' Dojaquez-Torres said. 'They seem to have really been struggling to get their deportation numbers up, and so I think that's one of the reasons why we see a lot of these policies going into effect that are meant to kind of circumvent the immigration court process and due process.' Arrests of people convicted of violent crimes increased by 45% from about 5,300 to 7,700 compared with last year. For drug crimes, the increase was 21% — and they fell as a share of total arrests, from 9% under the Biden administration to 5% this year. If Trump wants more deportations, he'll need to target the construction industry Arrests for those not convicted of any crime nearly tripled to about 67,000, and increased from 47% to 60% of arrests. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security defended ICE arrests Wednesday. Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the agency was 'targeting dangerous criminal illegal aliens and taking them off American streets. Violent thugs ICE arrested include child pedophiles, drug traffickers, and burglars.' In Oregon, arrests during the first part of last year increased from 51 under the Biden administration to 227 under the Trump administration, with those not convicted of any crime increasing from 34 to 137. Those with convictions for violent crime increased from 3 to 16. Even some Republicans are concerned with the new emphasis on non-criminals. 'The majority of recent ICE detentions involve people with no convictions. That's a pattern I find troubling, especially when it risks sweeping up people for things like expired tags or missed court dates,' said Oregon state Rep. Cyrus Javadi, a moderate Republican representing Tillamook and Clatsop counties. Nationally, nonviolent crimes have risen as a share of immigration arrests. The most common crime conviction for those arrested this year is driving while intoxicated, which was also the top offense last year under Biden. But this year it's closely followed by general traffic offenses, which rose to second place from sixth place, surpassing such crimes as assault and drug trafficking. More cities, counties join immigrant sanctuary lawsuit seeking to block Trump funding cuts Traffic offenses, outside of driving while intoxicated and hit and run, rose almost fourfold as the most serious conviction on record for those arrested, the largest increase in the top 10. Those offenses were followed by increases in the immigration crime of illegal entry, meaning crossing the border in secret, which tripled. The increase in traffic violations as a source of immigration arrests is a reason for cities to consider limiting traffic stops, said Daniela Gilbert, director of the Redefining Public Safety Initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit devoted to ending mass incarceration. 'It's an important point to consider intervening in so that there can be less interaction, and so ICE has less opportunity to continue its indiscriminate dragnet of enforcement,' Gilbert said. The institute argues in general that traffic stops should be limited to safety issues rather than low-level infractions such as expired registrations or single burned-out taillights, both because they do not improve public safety and because they disproportionately affect drivers of color. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Such policies limiting stops under some conditions are in place in 10 states and in cities in six other states, according to the institute. The most recent state polices took effect last year in California and Illinois, while a policy is set to take effect in October in Connecticut. The most recent city policies were in Denver and in East Lansing and Ypsilanti, Michigan. Six other states have considered legislation recently. Stateline reporter Tim Henderson can be reached at thenderson@ SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Attorney ‘unapologetically' prosecutes ICE agent assailants with federal criminal charges
U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli details the criminal charges facing those who 'obstruct, assault' I.C.E. agents on 'America Reports.' Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
He lived an immigrant's nightmare. One problem: He's a citizen, got his arrest on video
Caught on video: Federal ICE officials detained US citizen, others for hours after stopping landscaping crew, pulling them from van and tasing one. PALM BEACH COUNTY, Florida ‒ Kenny Laynez's cellphone camera captured every undocumented immigrant's nightmare on video when he was arrested. One problem: He is a U.S. citizen. The video, shot May 2, showed Florida Highway Patrol officers and Border Patrol agents stopping the 18-year-old landscaper and his three coworkers ‒ one of them his mother ‒ as they drove past luxury buildings to a job. The camera captured officers dragging his coworkers out of their van by their necks and twisting Laynez's arms and pushing him face down to the pavement. The video also recorded an officer shooting one of Laynez's coworkers with a Taser, saying he had resisted arrest. 'I have rights. I was born and raised here," Laynez told the officers, according to a copy of the video shared by the Guatemalan-Maya Center of Lake Worth Beach. "You don't have any rights here. You are a 'Migo,' brother,' the officer said, referring to his ethnicity. He hurried the 18-year-old into a van. Laynez was released from a Riviera Beach federal facility six hours later, with the video still on his cellphone. His coworkers, including the one who was tased, were undocumented and weren't as fortunate. They were transferred to the Krome Detention Center in Miami. Laynez said they are free on bail but fear they will be arrested if they show up in court. Deportations accelerate: Shock and anger: Florida immigrant communities react to 'Operation Tidal Wave' The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network, recently interviewed Laynez and made multiple attempts to contact FHP, ICE and Border Patrol for comment about the incident and the body-camera footage, as well as multiple requests for copies of the arrest reports. None of them responded. Laynez said he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction without violence simply to get the incident over with. He entered a pretrial diversion program on June 4. The state will drop the charges July 30 if he completes the program by then. "They treated us like dogs they picked up in the street," Layzez said. "They are just pulling over people and kidnapping people who are hard-working." "We are not criminals. We were just heading to work." Trump at 'Alligator Alcatraz': Facts on Florida Everglades immigration detention center ICE arrests spread fear among immigrants Videos like Laynez's showing federal agents arresting day laborers have left immigrant families across Palm Beach County and the rest of the country in fear. Even families in which some members are documented have laid low, sometimes not going to school or church. West Palm Beach attorney Jack Scarola has reviewed Laynez's footage and has talked with him about the incident. He said the footage shows how FHP and Border Patrol agents are under "extreme pressure" to meet daily arrest and deportation quotas and that the response has led to a "reckless disregard" of the rights of both undocumented and legal immigrants and even the rights of U.S. citizens. 'All of us should be not only offended, but outraged by that misconduct,' Scarola said. 'And if we fail to appropriately respond to that outrageous disregard of the civil rights of others, all of our civil rights are in serious jeopardy.' Stopped while heading to work Kenny Laynez was born in 2005 at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach to a Guatemalan single mother who is in the U.S. legally but is not a citizen. He attended Palm Beach Lakes High School and got a job at the landscaping company where his mother drove crews to work sites. Neither Laynez nor his mother works for the company any longer. Laynez said he and his mother met two coworkers on May 2 at a gas station and drove to a landscaping job near North Palm Beach. The coworkers, Esdras and Marroquin, are undocumented but neither had criminal records, Laynez said. The Post is withholding their last names to protect their families. Although his mother wasn't speeding, just after they crossed the bridge on Singer Island, they heard a police siren. An officer rolled down a tinted window and signaled to her to pull over. The officer asked where they were headed. Laynez said they were going to work and the officer took his mother's license and the truck's registration and insurance. The officer returned and said his mother's license was suspended, to all their surprise. Laynez said he asked the officer why he pulled them over. He didn't see how the officer could have known his mother's license was suspended by running the company truck's license plate. Laynez said the officer asked if they were "illegal." Laynez said they were not and asked what that had to do with the license. A van pulled up and more armed agents swarmed the truck. A female officer approached his window and ordered them in Spanish to shut off their phones. Laynez said that at that moment, he started recording with his phone instead: "I assumed something was going to happen.' The video of the raid What he captured on video begins with a question. "Who in here is illegal?' The officer asked in Spanish. "Whoever takes longer to answer will get more charges and spend more time in jail.' Esdras, who is seen clenching a towel in his hands, raised his hand. The male agent ordered them to open the door. Laynez grabbed onto the handle. 'Wait, hold up,' Laynez said. 'You don't have the right to do that.' 'I don't have a right?' the officer said with a laugh. He reached inside the car and popped the door open. The video shows an agent grabbing Marroquin by the hair and placing his neck in the crook of his arm. Another agent pulled Esdras, called Kevin by his coworkers, by the leg and tightened his hands around his neck. The video then shows Laynez stepping out of the car, but an officer who had ordered him to get on the ground pushes him from behind, twisting his arms and kneeling him to the pavement. Esdras stood rigidly as three officers tried to force him to the ground. They told him in English to lie down, while Laynez urged him in Spanish not to resist. 'Aye! What are you doing? That is not how you arrest people,' Laynez said. The video shows an officer pulling out a yellow Taser and firing twice into Esdras' stomach. Laynez saw his body and legs spasm before he slammed onto the pavement, crying. An agent pressed his knee on Laynez's back and forced him face down to the pavement. An officer later ordered Laynez to stand up, but he said he was too scared to move. 'I am not going to get up because you are going to do to me whatever you were doing to Esdras,' Laynez said. 'That is not how you arrest people." 'Be quiet,' an officer said, cutting him off and picking him up. 'I've got the right to talk,' Laynez said. 'I was born and raised here.' 'You have no rights here. You are a 'Migo,' brother," the officer said in a comment Laynez said sounded like racial profiling. Laynez's mother can be heard crying in the background. Video records officers laughing at immigration arrest Laynez's phone continued recording on the sidewalk and captured a conversation between the agents over the next four minutes. 'Once she got the proper spread on him, he was done,' the officer said. "You're funny, bro.' 'It was funny,' an agent said, laughing. 'It was,' another chimed in with laughter. Another agent said more people are resisting their immigration arrests. "They are starting to resist now," an agent said. "We're going to end up shooting someone." On the video, an agent recounted how Laynez said they didn't have the right to come in the door and says: 'I already told you to come out. If you don't come out, I'll pull you out.' 'God damn. Wow,' the officer cheered. 'Nice!' 'Just remember you can smell too with a $30,000 bonus,' another officer chimes in. It was not immediately clear to what bonus the officer referred. On the tape, an officer is heard saying that Laynez's coworker was resisting arrest, so he should be charged. 'He was being a d*** right now. That is why we tased,' an agent said. The phone recording stopped shortly after that exchange, its memory out of storage. The agents confirmed Laynez's mother had legal status and issued her a ticket for driving with a suspended license. Laynez said she told them he was a U.S. citizen and showed them a picture of his Social Security card. They still took Laynez into custody. Laynez said that before leaving, the officers held his mother's driver's license to her face and tore it in half. U.S. citizen spent six hours in detention facility: What he saw Once at the Riviera Beach facility, Laynez said he saw rows of men. Most spoke Spanish and wore construction clothes like his own. Two looked like they were his age, 17 or 18. Laynez said he appeared to be the only one inside the packed room who spoke English. He said the men told them they had been detained for hours without water or food. Laynez wanted to use the bathroom, but the only toilet available was out in the open, without any doors or covers. After almost four hours, the female officer who detained them took Laynez to a room and asked for his date of birth three times, even though he had already written it down for another officer. Finally, she came out with a ziplocked bag with his phone, wallet and headphones. In Spanish, she asked him to unlock it. Laynez said she told him she needed to see if he had filmed videos of the arrest. Laynez said he unlocked his phone, closed all his apps and locked it again. He said he declined to open it and set it down on the table. He said she told him they would wait in that room until he opened it. She asked again for his date of birth. Laynez said he trembled. That was his password. Laynez said the officer threatened to press charges if he didn't unlock his phone, but then a person who appeared to be a supervisor interrupted them. Laynez said the supervisor said Laynez wasn't supposed to be in that room because he is a U.S. citizen. The supervisor took Laynez's fingerprints and said it was only to leave a record that he had been in the facility. Then he told Laynez he couldn't leave without signing some paperwork and that he would have to show up in court. "What did I do?' Laynez said he asked while signing. "I didn't do anything. Why do I have to present myself in court?' The arrest report said Laynez was being charged with nonviolent police obstruction. In a copy of the report that Laynez provided to The Palm Beach Post, officers wrote that Esdras had resisted his arrest. Laynez is not mentioned. After six hours, Laynez said he walked out the door of the Riviera Beach building and ordered an Uber home. He had almost 100 missed calls from his mother. Laynez said the footage of the arrests haunts him, but he doesn't regret filming. "I would basically have nothing, no evidence,' Laynez said. 'And no one would believe what happened or how they escalated the situation. "There might be even more happening that is not being recorded."
