LAFAYETTE, IN — A former Lafayette police officer and current Tippecanoe County employee was arrested recently on suspicion of battery after a road rage incident, police say.
Scott T. Swick, 54, of Lafayette, now works for the Tippecanoe County Highway Department. He was driving his county-owned take-home vehicle when the incident happened about 7:30 a.m. April 28 on Indiana 26 near Tippecanoe County Road 550 East, according to police.
Swick declined to comment Wednesday.
Swick told police that the other driver, a 37-year-old Lafayette woman, drove recklessly and cut off another driver.
On Wednesday, prosecutors filed a misdemeanor charge of battery against Swick, according to court records.
After seeing the woman cut off another driver accidentally and almost cause an accident, Swick followed her into the Meijer gas station, where Swick aggressively walked to the woman’s vehicle, according to the charging document. The woman attempted to move away from Swick, but he followed her to her driver’s door.
Meijer video and video in the woman’s SUV indicated that the two of them were yelling at each other, police said.
The woman told police that Swick pushed or slammed her driver’s door into her as she tried to get into the vehicle. She grabbed her legally possessed handgun, but Swick disarmed her and forced her to the ground, police said.
Court records say Swick is scheduled for an initial hearing on June 15.
The Journal & Courier requested from the county and Lafayette Police Department Swick’s dates of employment and whether he’d received any complaints or discipline during his career.
Lafayette police said Swick has been retired for several years, and his records will have to be retrieved from long-term storage.
Swick, who currently is a traffic supervisor, has been employed at the county highway department since Oct. 17, 2022. He started as a truck driver.
Swick has no prior disciplinary incidents while employed with the county, according to Tippecanoe County Human Resource Director Sadie McKinley.
Swick received a five-business-day unpaid suspension after he failed to show up for work on April 28. Swick told his supervisor that he was arrested before his shift started.
“Such conduct by a traffic supervisor reflects poorly on the county and is contrary to personnel policies,” McKinley said.
Those policies are reporting late to work without justified explanation, undesirable conduct and discourteous treatment of the public, McKinley said in her response.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Ex-police officer, current county employee suspected of road rage
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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