Stevin "Blippi" John, right, chats with Tenino Police Chief Robert Swain on Thursday, Aug. 6, at Tenino City Park about a scene John is about to shoot.
The shelf located in the back of Tenino Police Chief Robert Swain’s office was half empty on Thursday afternoon with a pile of memorabilia scattered on a nearby conference table.
Swain was staying busy — not in the sense that usually comes with being a police officer in a small rural town, but as a 40-year law enforcement veteran looking to tie up loose ends for his successor.
After two years patrolling the streets of Tenino, Swain, 60, is on his way out. He recently announced his plan to retire from the Tenino Police Department and his last day is scheduled for Sept. 15.
“By far, this has been the most exciting, exhilarating assignment I’ve gotten to do. I’ve gotten to do everything I’ve wanted to do as a police officer here,” Swain said. “The community’s been so supportive of me … Tenino’s always going to hold a special place in my heart. The people here are just outstanding.
Swain is now hoping for slower days in his future.
Though he’s leaving TPD, Swain and his wife plan on staying in the community and keeping active. He said he’s looking forward to continuing to volunteer with the Tenino Lions Club and is looking to serve on the city’s Civil Service Commission, a three-person city oversight committee.
“We were happy to see him come back. He’s been through a lot in the last few months,” Tenino Mayor Wayne Fournier said. “It just seemed like he got back in the saddle and realized he wanted to spend more time with his family. I totally respect his decision. We’re sad to see him go, but it makes sense for him personally.”
Swain was hospitalized back in April after passing out while driving east on Sussex Avenue. His cruiser crashed into Scotty B’s restaurant and he was transferred to a local hospital.
He was off the job for about three months and came back in July.
There was no indication drugs or alcohol were involved and the incident was believed to be a medical emergency.
Swain said the incident didn’t motivate his decision to retire, but he added that he “didn’t want to put himself or anybody else at risk.”
It was just time.
Following the incident, the Washington State Patrol opened an investigation. The Chronicle reached out to the state agency regarding that investigation, but details were not available by press time.
During his two-year tenure as police chief, Swain supervised three full-time officers, four reserve officers and two police volunteers. Fournier said a search for a new chief should take anywhere from two to three months, and they’ve already received inquiries from interested candidates.
Swain said his career in law enforcement started back in 1980 as a dispatch caller for the Manitou Springs Police Department, located just outside Colorado Springs.
After turning 21, Swain went to the Colorado Springs Police Academy to be trained as an officer. He came back and served in Manitou Springs until he departed in 1985 for the much-larger Colorado Springs Police Department.
Throughout his 22-year tenure at CSPD, Swain served on 17 assignments including an ATF unit. He was also later awarded the Medal of Valor by the department.
“There’s five military bases and, because of that, there was a constant flow of population coming in and moving out. The big thing in the 90s is gangs really came into Colorado Springs,” he said. “It was amazing. I felt like I was really going to make a difference, make an impact.”
Within less than a year of serving in Colorado Springs, he was shot in the pelvic area while responding to a domestic dispute call, Swain said.
“For several years, I would get a postcard from the lady who moved away with her kids — just letting me know how they’re doing, thanking me again. She was sure — I was sure she was close to getting killed by him that day,” he said.
Swain said he was also part of a group of officers that helped arrest part of the Texas Seven, a group who escaped a prison in Kenedy, Texas. The search for the inmates was chronicled on “America’s Most Wanted.”
Between 2007 and 2017, Swain worked in leading roles for campus police units at Denver Public Schools and Tulsa Public Schools. He came to Washington in 2017 to be with his wife.
Being hired on as Tenino’s chief, Swain didn’t think at the time that he would be serving for such a short amount of time, but he’s happy with the improvements to the department he’s made.
After he came in, Swain said he worked diligently on the police manual and improved the administrative function of the department.
