By Matt Davis, The Lens staff writer |

A rookie New Orleans cop who resigned in April after allegedly brandishing two guns during an off-duty altercation at a gas station will not face criminal charges in the incident, prosecutors have decided.

“After reviewing all of the evidence, the District Attorney’s office determined that it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the putative victim was placed in reasonable apprehension of receiving a battery,” Deputy District Attorney Christopher Bowman wrote in an emailed statement.

New Orleans Police Department Officer Devyn D. Swanier was booked with aggravated assault in April, after a domestic dispute with a couple at a Chevron gas station on Crowder Boulevard at Interstate 10.  Surveillance footage showed Swanier brandishing his weapon at the couple and then going to his trunk to pull out a second weapon, said Arlinda Westbrook, the deputy superintendent who heads the department’s Public Integrity Bureau.

Swanier was represented in court Thursday by attorney Robert Jenkins when the charges were dropped.

“I feel that the District Attorney’s Office did a great job in evaluating this case and I feel that they made the right decision in dropping the charges,” he said.

Jenkins said Swanier will not face any additional charges in the incident and considers the matter closed.

Bowman said Swanier’s actions might not have made for a solid legal case, but he did express an opinion on the officer’s judgment.

“The evidence reveals that Swanier exercised extremely poor judgment, which is probably the reason that he is no longer an NOPD officer,” Bowman wrote. “However, not every person who exercises poor judgment – even a police officer – is automatically guilty of a criminal act.  In particular, a criminal act that our office is required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt.”