Scott Swayze began his career in social work on the southside of Syracuse in 2002 and entered law enforcement in 2004 as a municipal police officer including service as an Inspector and the Assistant Chief. In his role now as both Chief of Police and the Emergency Manager for the university, he oversees patrol, investigations, emergency planning (ERP), standard response protocol (SRP), the communications division, parking office, and the university’s security systems department.
Chief Swayze earned a bachelor’s degree in Education from SUNY Cortland with a minor in Public Administration, a master’s degree in Environmental Science from SUNY-ESF, and his Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School. Scott has served as a prosecutor & federal trial attorney with a focus on 8th Amendment cases and has been published in national journals of the American Bar Association. He maintains several state certifications including group crisis intervention, trauma informed victim response, social networking investigations, hostage negotiation, and he’s a nationally certified Hazardous Materials Technician and board-certified Fire Inspector.
As an officer devoted to campus connection, his department focuses on programming and social outreach like community cookouts & festivals, officer/student wellness, and “Coffee with a Cop”; he has emphasized training and development for officers relevant to our campus population including de-escalation, intergroup dialogue, QPR, and principled policing.
Contact Chief Swayze at [email protected].