Bart Hayes is pro-law enforcement. He retired from the Tacoma Police Department as a captain, and went on to manage the advanced training division of the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission.
That means he wants law enforcement agencies to be at their best. So he was troubled when I told him that Pierce County sheriff Keith Swank was emailing a News Tribune reporter several times a week with updates on his work schedule.
As I wrote in a column about my own opinion on the matter, the sheriff’s email updates to criminal justice reporter Peter Talbot now number around 70. Swank started sending them back in January, after Talbot asked for comment about how much time he spends on social media. The emails offer a dose of sarcasm along with details about how many hours Swank worked…