WESTON — A sergeant with the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office went to jail after a domestic violence incident that occurred over the weekend at his home in Weston.

The sergeant, Roy Swiger, reported himself to the Oregon State Police Monday, July 26, according to Undersheriff Jim Littlefield. State police arrested Swiger and took him to the Umatilla County Jail that day. Littlefield said Swiger called the sheriff’s office after he called the state police to report the incident.

Littlefield described the incident as an “altercation” between Swiger and his wife that was “completely out of character for Sgt. Swiger.” He said he did not know Swiger’s condition when he was arrested.

Littlefield said Swiger was “booked like any other person and then issued a court date in the future,” and Sheriff Terry Rowan made the call to promptly cite and release Swiger from jail due to the “totality of circumstances,” which included concerns for his safety in a jail with people he had arrested.

The sheriff’s office placed Swiger on paid leave. According to the county’s human resources department, Swiger makes $6,992 a month.

Oregon State Police is investigating the incident, Littlefield said. Once the sheriff’s office receives information from the criminal case, Littlefield said the agency plans to launch an administrative investigation to determine if Swiger violated sheriff’s office or county policies and procedures.

Littlefield said the sheriff’s office does not believe Swiger to be a flight risk and added Swiger has no disciplinary history with the sheriff’s office since he started in 2017. Swiger has worked in law enforcement for almost 20 years, but Littlefield said the sheriff’s office does not have any knowledge of disciplinary issues with other agencies.

The Oregon Criminal Justice Information Records Inquiry System shows Swiger started his law enforcement career as a reserve for the Milton-Freewater Police Department. He rose to the rank of officer and left in 2005 to take a job with the Forest Grove Police Department.

Swiger worked as an officer there until October 2017, then resigned a month later and joined the Umatilla County Sheriff’s Office as a senior deputy before promoting to sergeant in 2018.