A judge on Thursday declared a mistrial in the case of a now-ex Signal Hill police officer who allegedly put a gun to another driver’s head during an off-duty road rage incident.
After deliberating for two days, an Orange County Superior Court jury deadlocked 8-4 in favor of not guilty for Jacob Emory Swigger, 41, of Lake Forest, prompting Judge David Hoffer to declare a mistrial.
Douglas Cruse, also of Lake Forest, cut Swigger off on the 405 freeway on Nov. 20, 2014, prompting the off-duty cop to honk his horn, follow Cruse’s vehicle to the area of Laguna Canyon Road and swerve in front of Cruse, forcing him to stop, according to prosecutors.
It is alleged Swigger then jumped out of his vehicle, identified himself as a police officer, pulled Cruse out of the driver’s seat and put a gun to Cruse’s head.
The defense argued that Swigger, who has since left the Signal Hill force, feared for his life.
The Orange County District Attorney’s office has not yet indicated if it plans to retry the case.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.