Three Federal Way police were promoted and another was appointed to the position of corporal during Tuesday night’s City Council meeting.

Lt. Kurt Schwan was promoted to commander, Cpl. Jeff Otto and Cpl. Thaddeus Hodge were promoted lieutenant and officer Jeff Mundell was appointed to the position of corporal.

Chief Andy J. Hwang recongized the officers during the meeting, and Mayor Jim Ferrell administered the oath of office. The wives of each of the officers pinned them with their new rank.

Schwan is a 20-year veteran of law enforcement. He joined the Federal Way Police Department as a lateral police officer in 1999 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2011. As a lieutenant, he worked in patrol, traffic, and the special investigations unit. As an officer, Schwan served as a patrol officer, K-9 officer, administrative officer, public information officer, emergency vehicle operations instructor, and served on the crisis communication unit. Schwan has a bachelor’s degree in justice studies from Lewis-Clark State College and is a graduate of the FBI LEEDA courses.

Otto is a 17-year veteran of law enforcement. He joined to the Federal Way Police Department as an entry level police officer in 2001 and was appointed to the position of corporal in 2015. In 2005, Otto was selected for the Valley SWAT Team and served for twelve years as a SWAT operator with the last two years as a team leader. He was a detective in the Federal Way Police Department’s criminal investigation section for eight years, focusing on felony crime investigations. Otto has served as an adviser for the Federal Way Police Explorer post for ten years and is an active member of the firearms training unit. He is also an emergency vehicle operations instructor. Otto has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Washington State University.

Hodge was a founding member of the Federal Way Police Department, beginning his service in the community in March 1997. During his tenure with the department, Hodge has served as an officer and detective in a variety of assignments, including patrol, criminal investigations, The Commons mall, traffic unit, and as a member of the special operations unit. Hodge spent more than a decade as a Police Explorer adviser, mentoring youth. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and has nine years of military service in the United States Army, serving overseas as a special agent with NATO.

Mundell is a 10-year veteran of law enforcement. He joined to the Federal Way Police Department as an entry level officer in 2007. He is currently assigned as a corporal in the traffic unit. Mundell has been on the crisis negotiating team since 2012 and received the department’s Life Saving award in 2016. Jeff is a founding member of the Federal Way Police Department’s Honor Guard. He is a master sergeant with the Washington State Air National Guard with 16 years of distinguished service. Mundell is also a senior director technician and is the assistant superintendent of his flight with the Guard. He graduated from Ecola Bible College in Oregon in 2000.