News release courtesy of the Bryan Police Department:
On Friday, July 11, 2014 at 3:00pm, The Bryan Police Department will promote Sgt. Dean Swartzlander to the rank of Lieutenant and Officers Paul Mahoney and Chad Hanks to the rank of Sergeant in a ceremony with family and friends. The ceremony will take place in the Secondary Courtroom of the Bryan Justice Center. The public is welcome to join us in this celebration.
Lt. Dean Swartzlander is a 17 year veteran of the Bryan Police Department. He began his career on patrol in August 1997 where he served for four years. During that time Lt. Swartzlander was assigned the K9 “Ranger” who was a drug detection dog on patrol. In 2001 he transferred to the newly formed K9 Unit and was given a new K9 partner “Rudi” who was trained in drug detection, article recovery, detention and apprehension. In 2008 Swartzlander was promoted to Sergeant where he supervised patrol and K9 until “Rudi” retired in 2009. In 2009 Lt. Swartzlander transferred to the Training and Recruiting Dept. where he has worked for the past 5 years.
Lt. Swartzlander has received one of the Department’s highest recognitions more than once when he was awarded Officer of the Year in 2000 and Supervisor of the Year in 2009 and again in 2011.
Lt. Swartzlander has received recognition for his exceptional work and service to the community:
· 1999 – Departmental Citation for his work on Church burglaries
· 2000 – Departmental Citation for responding to a call where a child died in a vehicle. Swartzlander performed CPR but was unable to revive the child.
· 2003 – Metal of Valor for the Robbery at Western Union
· 2003 – Named Officer of the Year by the Texas Municipal Police Officers’ Association
· 2004 – Received proclamation from Mayor Watson for courage in the line of duty
· 2004-Received the State of Texas Law Enforcement Achievement Award for Valor for the Western Union Robbery Case
· 2005 – Received VFW Law Enforcement Gold Medal Award
· 2006 – Medal of Valor for the Taquerias Arandas Robbery
· 2009 – Community Service Citation for his work with his canine.
Lt. Dean Swartzlander’s future assignment will be to command the Support Services Division. Lt. Swartzlander will bring exceptional experience to this assignment and he will be an asset to the department as he moves into a management level position.
Sgt. Paul Mahoney is a 14 year veteran of the Bryan Police Department. He started his career on patrol in August 2000 where he served for five years. Sgt. Paul Mahoney is best known for his passion in fighting drugs in our community as he has worked for the Directed Deployment Team and the Drug Enforcement Team for 9 of his 14 years with the department.
Sergeant Paul Mahoney has received recognition for his exceptional work and service to the community:
· 2002 – Community Service Citation for his work fighting drugs in the NW portion of town
· 2003 – Enrique Camarena Award for his dedication and service to the community in narcotics investigation and enforcement.
· 2004 – Received Master Peace Officer Certificate
· 2006 – Police Commendation for his exceptional level of performance with street level drug dealers
· 2009 – Life Saving Citation for assisting a citizen out of a burning vehicle
· 2009 – Police Commendation for assisting in a robbery at Palasota Grocery on April 2, 2009.
· 2011 – Police Commendation for the drug investigation into the 1000 block of Dale Street.
Sgt. Chad Hanks is a 14 year veteran of the Bryan Police Department. Sgt. Hanks started his career on patrol in February 2000 where he served for 2 ½ years before transferring to the Brazos Valley Narcotics Task Force. In 2006 Sgt. Hanks transferred to the Drug Enforcement Team. Sgt. Hanks is best known for his passion in fighting drugs in our community by working with the K9 Unit with his partner Kohn from 2008 to current. Sgt. Hanks has served on the Tactical Response Team since January of this year.
Sgt. Chad Hanks has received recognition for his exceptional work and service to the community:
· 2007 – Police Commendation for arresting 3 aggravated robbery suspects
· 2009 – Community Service Citation for working security at the presidential inauguration in Washington DC
· 2009 – Received Master Peace Officer Certificate
· 2009 – Police Commendation for assisting in a robbery at Palasota Grocery on April 2, 2009
· 2010 – Police Commendation for K9 recertification testing
Both Sgt. Mahoney and Sgt. Hank’s future assignment will be as supervisors in the Patrol Services Bureau. Both Sgt. Mahoney and Hanks will bring exceptional experience to their team and will be assets to the department as supervisors.