13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Two troopers fired over alleged bar altercation

Two troopers fired over alleged bar altercation

Steve Jefferson/Eyewitness News

Indianapolis - Two Indiana State Troopers are out of a job after allegations about their behavior outside an Indianapolis bar.

A patron at Greg's Place says State Troopers Marcus Baxter and Curtis Swanson assaulted him outside the east side bar May 31, sparking an internal investigation at State Police headquarters.

Both Baxter and Swanson were off duty at the time of the incident. The victim says he refused to give them his parking space and that's when one of the troopers forced him against a brick wall.

"One officer had been drinking, he was not driving a police cruiser, he was not riding one one," said ISP Major Carlos Pettiford. "The other officer wasn't drinking and was in a cruiser."

State Police investigators turned the case over to Deputy Prosecutor Barbara Crawford for battery and intimidation. Crawford didn't see the case winning in court despite what she calls "disgusting behavior."

"It was terrible as law enforcement officers, but it did not rise to the level of criminal prosecution," Crawford said.

State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell fired the troopers last Thursday.

"The type of action by officer on this agency will not be tolerated and you could possibly lose your job," Maj. Pettiford said.

Both officers were still in their probationary period. State Police officials say they have a zero-tolerance policy for officer misconduct, especially rookies.

"They are what we call probationary officers. When you graduate from the academy, you are on probation for one year," Maj. Pettiford said. "It is our policy, as a probationary officer, you can be terminated at any time in that year and you have no recourse."