Roll of Honor
Claude Everett Swackhammer
Incident
Deputy Commissioner Swack Swackhammer and Sergeant Robert Lee Bittick, of the Alaska State Troopers, were killed in an airplane accident in British Columbia, Canada, just north of Haines, Alaska. Sergeant Bittick was piloting the department's Grumman Goose seaplane from Anchorage to Juneau when it crashed into a mountainside during a snowstorm. Deputy Commissioner Swackhammer had served with the Alaska State Troopers for 25 years and had been appointed by the governor to the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
Survivors
He is survived by his wife, two sons, and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-AK-A6EBD625- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- August 2, 2026
- Last updated
- August 2, 2026
Honored here by 1 tribute.
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Tributes
27 years. You could have gone home.
Deputy Commissioner Swackhammer gave the Alaska Department of Public Safety 27 years. Still answering calls at the end.
Thank you for your service to the people of Alaska. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Deputy Commissioner Swackhammer.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
Claude Everett Swackhammer served in the the United States military before joining law enforcement.
Deputy Commissioner Claude Everett Swackhammer is one of 1 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 0% of all 97,772 officers honored here.
In AK, 14 of 50 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 28% of this state's fallen. That is 28 percentage points above the national rate of 0%.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Claude Everett Swackhammer's cause is highlighted.
How Claude Everett Swackhammer Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Claude Everett Swackhammer is highlighted in Oct.
Incident Location
Military Service
Claude Everett Swackhammer served in the United States military before joining law enforcement.
Visit Claude Everett Swackhammer’s page on salute.nw →
His full service record — units, decorations, where he served — is kept on salute.nw.
Others Who Wore This Badge
0 officers from Alaska Department of Public Safety are honored on badge.nw.