Forty-five years after a Bremen police officer made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty, his community is working to ensure his name and legacy are permanently honored along the very highway where he lost his life.
During Monday's Marshall County Commissioners' meeting, Commission President Stan Klotz discussed a request from the Bremen community and Indiana Senator Mike Bohacek to support the renaming of a section of U.S. 6 in Bremen in honor of Patrolman Tony Swartzlander. The Commissioners expressed their full support for the request.
Swartzlander was a Bremen High School graduate, a Vietnam Veteran who served with the United States Air Force, and a dedicated officer with the Bremen Police Department. His life and service are still remembered with deep reverence by his family, his community, and the Bremen Police Department nearly half a century after his death.
The tragedy unfolded on February 22, 1981, when Officer Swartzlander responded to assist with a pursuit of a vehicle fleeing an armed robbery in LaPorte County. The crime spree had begun in Steger, Illinois, where an 18-year-old and a 22-year-old committed a series of violent crimes, including kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 27-year-old female before carrying out an armed robbery in LaPorte County. A three-county pursuit began shortly after the robbery.
Patrolman Swartzlander, who was off duty at the time, responded to assist in the pursuit. To stop the fleeing felons, he established a roadblock on U.S. 6 east of King Road. Swartzlander was outside his police car attempting to flag down the suspect vehicle when, as described by witnesses, the suspects aimed their vehicle directly at the officer and struck him.
Swartzlander was rushed to Bremen Community Hospital, where medical staff made every effort to save his life. Ultimately, he died due to the severity of his injuries. In a heartbreaking twist of fate, Swartzlander's 8-year-old daughter was with him at the time and witnessed the accident that took her father's life.
Renaming a portion of U.S. 6 for Patrolman Tony Swartzlander would honor the memory of a brave hometown hero whose absence is still painfully felt by his family, his community, and the Bremen Police Department 45 years later. The highway naming would serve as a permanent reminder of his sacrifice and his dedication to protecting the community he called home.
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