Pinole Police Department, California
End of Watch: Saturday, May 3, 1980
Age: 33
Tour of Duty: 10 years
Badge Number: 2
Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: May 3, 1980
Weapon Used: Rifle
Suspect Info: Sentenced to death
Police Officer Floyd Swartz was shot in the throat and killed while attempting to arrest a murder suspect.
He and other officers were attempting to coax the suspect from a hiding spot, in dense weeds behind a residential area, when the suspect opened fire. Five hours later the suspect surrendered to officers.
The suspect was wanted for stabbing to death a 19-year-old girl that he and another man abducted from her home four nights earlier. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. The man died in prison in December 2020 while on death row.
Officer Swartz had served with the Pinole Police Department for 10 years. He was survived by his three children.