Not every city has a police chief that is visible in the community and leads from the front line, but Michigan City does.
Chief of Police Mark Swistek, a 23-year veteran of the Michigan City Police Department, leads by example, often putting himself on the front line during tense situations.
“You have to lead from the front and not the back,” Swistek said. “I don’t work just from behind the desk, citizens see me out in the community, stopping vehicles, making arrests and keeping myself informed first hand. The chief needs to know what’s going on in the community.”
Swistek is a lifelong Michigan City resident, one of three sons of John, a former Michigan City police officer, and Rita Swistek.
But while his younger brothers did not have an interest in becoming a police officer like their father, Mark knew from the time he was in middle school, he was destined to be in law enforcement.
“I remember playing baseball at Elston (High School) and my coach, Donnie Thomas would always tell me ‘Swistek - you’re going to be a Doctor one day, I see you becoming a Doctor.’ But I would always tell him: Coach - I’m going to be a cop,” the chief remembers. Thomas and John Magro, owner of longtime local business Magro Shoes were Swistek’s high school baseball coaches and along with his parents, two of his most positive influences.
Not only did Swistek make good on his childhood prediction, he has risen steadily through the ranks of the Department. After being hired in 1992 as a patrol officer, he later served in special operations, the investigative division and as a K-9 officer.
But it was not until 1999, when then Police Chief Gene Simmons asked him to lead the Narcotics Task Force, that he was able to put his number one passion to work.
“That was very rewarding,” he said. “Narcotics work is very near and dear to my heart . While there are so many things to focus on in law enforcement, my passion is for narcotics. That is what I take very seriously, especially with the heroin epidemic lately in La Porte County. I am very concerned about the overdoses we have seen as of late. We have taken a pledge to step up enforcement in those areas.”
To that end, the chief is proud to be active in performing warrant sweeps several times a year, many of which focus on those accused of violating narcotics laws.
“It is rewarding to do warrant sweeps in the area to pick up individuals who are distributing heroin because they are responsible for supplying this to people who cannot fight back these addictions,” he said. “I still get Christmas cards and phone calls from people who thank me for helping turn their lives around, whether by arresting them at a time when their problem hit its heights or using them as a confidential informant. People still see me in the community and it feels good to hear them thank you for helping turn their lives around.”
While being a law enforcement officer is a “very thankless job at times,” Swistek said it is those moments that make the profession the most rewarding as well.
Swistek had to give up his service on the DEA Task Force (he was the first Michigan City police officer to serve on the DEA) in 2004 when then Police chief Ben Neitzel asked Swistek to take over the No. 2 role in the department as Chief of Operations (a position now held by Tim Richardson). When Neitzel retired in 2010, then Mayor Chuck Oberlie made Swistek’s rise in the Department complete when he was named Chief of Police, a position he retained even when the city’s mayorality transitioned from Oberlie to current Mayor Ron Meer in 2012.
Since Swistek was appointed Chief, not only has the Department worked to lower crime significantly every year, but transparency has improved by leaps and bounds, which is something Swistek is just as proud of.
“We are doing so many community outreach programs now, which was one of my major platforms coming in to this job,” he said. “I wanted to give this Department a different outlook in the community and wanted us to be more transparent, which is something I think we had neglected in the past.”
Examples of this new transparency is the creation of the Citizens Police Academy and Youth Explorer Program, the yearly city-wide Easter Egg Hunt in Washington Park, sending out news releases on major incidents that occur within their jurisdiction, and the creation of the Youth Leadership Academy, which is a week-long summer camp that hosts 50-60 middle school students.
The Department is also present and involved at nearly all of the city’s major events, including Boo at the Zoo and the back-to-school rally held every August at Elston Middle School, where Swistek and other members of the Department volunteer to be “dunked” at a dunking booth.
The Easter Egg Hunt, which in two years has attracted more than 4,000 kids to Fedder’s Alley is a chance for the community to see police in a more positive light, the chief says.
“It is priceless to to see the reactions of over 2,000 children and interact with the community that way. Those times stay with you forever.,” he said.
And while the Department remains active on the streets with an average of 233 arrests being made per month over the last two years, crime has decreased every year since Swistek became chief.
“I am very proud of the fact that the men and women of the department have rallied behind us to see more than a 10 percent decrease in major categories over the last year,” he said.
All 92 officers of the Michigan City Police Department have both rewarding and challenging, sometime life threatening moments, and the chief is no different.
Swistek emotionally remembers an incident in 1997 when he was called away from his lunch break to assist in a suspicious subject call. Arriving first on the scene, an individual began shooting a handgun at Swistek in an alley.
“I didn’t shoot back because children were in the alley playing basketball and did not want to take the risk of missing the subject,” Swistek remembers. “I continued the foot pursuit to the back of a house and exchanged gunfire and shot individual.”
But while Swistek remembers being “tough as nails” as the incident unfolded, it “makes you think about the positive things in life you take for granted.”
For Swistek, that was his wife, Rhonda and then two-year-old daughter, Morgan - who met him at the police station when they heard what happened.
“I broke down at that time because I realized how close I came that night to not being able to see them again,” he said.
The chief remembers another incident some years later, when Lieutenant Mark Zummak was shot and wounded in the 1300 block of Ohio Street while Swistek was off-duty and driving his daughter to school.
“When you hear something like that on the scanner, your heart stops. I’ll forever remember it.”
Luckily, the car in front of Swistek’s was being driven by a friend of the family headed to the same school Morgan attended.
“I put on my police lights, stopped the vehicle and handed my daughter over to the woman and said she needed to take her to school for me,” Swistek remembers. “I felt bad about abandoning my daughter, but someone in my second family was hurt. I raced to the scene as they were putting Mark in the ambulance. Mark asked me to stay at the scene because he wanted me to get the guy that shot him, and I did.”
But balancing out the challenging situations are the rewarding moments that remind Swistek and every police officer of why they became involved in such a career.
In recent memory, Swistek immediately points to his role in the July 12, 2013 life-saving efforts of then six-year-old Nathan Woessner in Michigan City, an event forever known as “The Miracle on Mount Baldy.”
“If I hadn’t been there personally, it would be hard for me to believe you can save a boy after being buried under 12 feet of sand for nearly four hours,” Swistek said. “What we did that day was a tribute to all emergency responders in La Porte County, because everyone involved played a pivital role in saving that young man.”
“Everybody was speechless,” the chief said of the moment rescue workers realized Nathan had vital signs and was likely to survive. “Some of us had blank looks on their faces, others walked off in the sand by themselves to reflect on the events that unfolded. I do remember everyone having a moment of celebration and rejoice when we confirmed with the hospital that he was alive.”
Swistek says Woessner and his family are planning a return to Michigan City this July to be the Grand Marshals of the 2014 Summer Festival Parade.
Keeping a positive outlook is important for any community leader, Swistek said.
“We have too many people in the community that want to dwell on the negatives, but why?,” the chief asked. “That is unhealthy for the community, especially when there are so many positive things going on here. You need positive people with high energy to be in the right positions, like Mayor Meer.”
Meer, according to Swistek, is the “grassroots Mayor” that is active in the community.
“ He is a prime example of a leader that you want,” Swistek said. “His heart is truly in it, and you can see that.”
From day one, Swistek has been a hard-worker, and that is another aspect he prides himself on. In 1984, as a newspaper carrier for The News-Dispatch, he was named ‘Carrier of the Year,’ taking on three routes, while most youngsters had one. In 1997, he was named ‘Police Officer of the Year’ and to this day, holds part time jobs outside of the Department.
“I still work part-time to ensure my daughter’s college is paid for,” he said. “It’s important that she has more than I did growing up.”
From carrier of the year to chief of police, Swistek has no plans to leave his position as chief and hopes to remain as the Department’s top dog as long as the city’s administration will have him there.
Until that time comes, the chief pledges to “continue to work with the citizens on bringing down crime.”
“The police department alone cannot shoulder the responsibility. It takes a partnership between the police and community to bring down overall crime. We’ve been doing that, and will continue to do that.”
“I would like to stay here as long as I can and as long as I can contribute,” he added. “I know I won’t be here forever, but when I do walk out of this office I will walk out with my head held high and know that I helped ensure this city remains the great city it is. The people I’ve surrounded myself with are the best you could ask for. I couldn’t be more proud of the department we have, a very talented group. The people I’m working side-by-side know what I want to be accomplished and they go out and execute.”
