Dominic Swanfeld was also
reprimanded in 1998 for violations
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. —A
Fayetteville Police officer has been suspended after several alleged violations
of the department's professional conduct policy, according to documents from
the Office of Professional Standards.
Investigators determined that
Sgt. Dominic Swanfeld violated several department policies including
inappropriate contact involving a woman who volunteered with the department.
Documents show the woman was an intern.
Swanfeld was accused of sexual
harassment after he made sexually explicit comments and slapped the woman on
the backside during a Fraternal Order of Police function at the Chancellor
Hotel in June, according to the documents.
During the investigation,
authorities concluded that Swanfeld did violate a city policy in regards to
sexual harassment.
Documents show Swanfeld also
violated other policies of the police department including, driving a police
car after drinking alcohol, exhibiting dishonesty, deception or falsifying a
report and creating a hostile work environment because he discussed the details
of a subordinate officer's personal life.
Fayetteville Police Chief, Greg
Tabor, said the victim did not make the complaint; rather, another officer told
the department after hearing about what happened.
Swanfeld was suspended for a
month (160 hours) effective immediately.
40/29 News asked Chief of
Police, Greg Tabor, why Swanfeld was not terminated. Tabor said his department
looks to see if someone is "salvageable" before they are fired.
"Could he have been
demoted and or terminated, absolutely could be, but someone has tot make the
decision of his discipline and that's me." Tabor said.
He continued, "Can, can it
be fixed? My opinion of this case is it can be."
40/29 News obtained documents
that show Swanfeld was suspended in 1998 by the Fayetteville Police Department.
According to those records, he was a bar (off-duty), but flashed his badge and
told the owners he could get the club shut down if they kicked him out.
Tabor said, that incident was
not considered "recent." He said it happened when Swanfeld was a not
in a supervisor position and was a "fairly new officer."
He was given a written
reprimand, removed from the Special Investigations Unit and declared ineligible
for promotion until performance review and improvement.
40/29 News reached out to the
president of the Fraternal Order of Police, who declined to comment.