UHP Col. Scott Duncan said Fred Swain - a 15-year UHP veteran who for the last years oversaw the DUI, K-9, criminal interdiction and emergency response units - quit "because it's the right thing to do."

In his letter of resignation, the 41-year-old Swain wrote, "My behavior has not been consistent with the best traditions and requirements of the department. I can only do the right thing from this day forward. I'm in need of correcting my behavior and becoming once again the type of person I once was not so long ago."

Swain told Duncan the pressures of his responsibilities contributed to his drinking problem.

His admission shocked his colleagues.

"Anyone who worked around Fred Swain would tell you they had no idea this was going on - no idea," Duncan said.

On June 23, Swain was westbound on Bangerter Highway, near 400 West, in a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria when he veered off the right shoulder, overcorrected and hit a concrete barrier that separates the east- and westbound lanes, according to police.

While Swain told Draper police officers he had fallen asleep at the wheel, they suspected he had been drinking. He declined medical attention several times and said it wasn't necessary for him to contact his UHP supervisors about the crash, police said.

Draper officer Kevin Easter said Swain was "acting strange" and wouldn't stand near officers or troopers as they questioned him. Easter detected an odor of alcohol about Swain, "who was very impaired" as he filled out a witness statement, according to Easter's report.

Swain, who denied he had been drinking, eventually submitted to a field sobriety test and a portable breath test. The test, taken about two hours after the crash, showed Swain's blood-alcohol level was nearly 0.12 percent - well above Utah's legal limit of 0.08 percent.

The UHP on Friday was still trying to determine where Swain had been drinking prior to getting into his cruiser. If Swain had been at a bar - the accident occurred about 2:25 a.m., not long after taverns must close in Utah - he would have violated the UHP policy of taking department-issued vehicles to bars, Duncan said.

The incident went unreported to the public until Thursday, when it was leaked to the news media.

Duncan said his agency did not alert the public right away because he thought it would be best to wait until the department's internal investigation was completed and Swain's DUI case was adjudicated.

"There is no way we'd think of covering something like this up," he said.

Duncan said the UHP will continue its internal affairs investigation of the accident, which will likely wrap up by the end of next week. The results of that investigation will then be subpoenaed by Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), which will determine if Swain's police officer certification will be revoked or suspended.

The colonel said it is likely the UHP would have terminated Swain if he had not resigned.

"His career is over," Duncan said. "I don't know if it's over forever, but it's certainly over with us."

While Swain has been a "great employee" and served Utah honorably, Duncan said, his behavior has undermined the public trust in the UHP - and it will be difficult to earn that back.

"They [the public] should feel betrayed," Duncan said. "I don't know if they feel embarrassed, but we certainly are."

Duncan said the UHP will move quickly to fill Swain's position on the four squads he oversaw, and he reassured the public the department will continue to vigorously enforce drunken driver laws, especially this holiday weekend.

"We're not going to back down from enforcing the law," he said.

If convicted of DUI, a class B misdemeanor, Swain could face up to $1,850 in fines, 180 days in jail and lose his driver's license.

lrosetta@sltrib.com