T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY Marshalltown’s newest reserve police officer, Daniel Faas, left, was appointed as part of the consent agenda at Monday night’s meeting, while longtime reserve officer Dan Brandt, center, received special recognition and a blanket of appreciation from Police Chief Mike Tupper, right.

The council chambers were full during Monday night’s meeting not only with those who came to speak in favor of the reappointment of Marshalltown Public Library Board of Trustees President Tonya Gaffney, but also with officers from the Marshalltown Police Department (MPD) who showed up for a recognition of longtime reserve officer Dan Brandt and the appointment of Dan Faas to become the city’s next reserve officer.

Police Chief Mike Tupper stepped to the speaking podium, first describing late Councilor Al Hoop as “a dear friend” who he loved, and who, in turn, loved the city’s police and fire departments “like no other.”

“I really appreciate everything (Hoop) has meant to public safety in our community,” he said.

Tupper then asked Faas and Brandt to come forward and provided a brief history of the police reserve program, noting the strong contingent of full-time officers who had come to show their support.

“I have the least important job in the police department, but I also think I have the coolest job because I get to do things like this,” Tupper said. “And while everybody is here, I just want to thank the Marshalltown Police Department for the great work that they do every day.”

That comment drew a round of applause from the audience, and the chief went on to express how proud he was of his officers for doing a difficult job in an honorable and noble manner.

“We train them up. We give them equipment, and we send them out to do good work. And they have to make life and death decisions on a daily basis, and they will always have my support when they use their discretion to solve problems,” he said. “I train them up. We talk about issues, and then they go out and do the work.”

He reiterated his commitment to investigating concerns and addressing problems in the community, and Tupper felt that more times than not, officers make the right decision. He then turned his focus to Faas and noted how much work and training reserve officers put in before earning their designation — all for $1 a year.

“He has a job. He has a family. He has things that he has to take care of on a personal level, and he volunteers his time to go through all of this extensive training. It took him about a year to get to this point, and he’s now a member of our police reserve force,” Tupper said. “I just want to congratulate Daniel for getting through the training. It’s not easy. Some people don’t make it. He made it with flying colors. He’s now gonna become a reserve police officer for the city of Marshalltown, and you should be proud of him because we are.”

That drew another large round of applause, and Tupper subsequently took the opportunity to introduce the other Dan — Brandt, who he described as the father of reserve policing in the state of Iowa along with the late Bob Schubert. The reserve unit in Marshalltown started in 1971, when Tupper, who has served as chief for more than a decade, was just a year old.

“He has been doing this for a long time. We would not have a reserve police force in this city if not for Dan Brandt, and because of his innovation, his intelligence (and) his foresight, we probably would not have reserve policing in the state of Iowa like we do today without Dan Brandt, Bob Schubert and a couple others,” Tupper said. “It all started right here in Marshalltown, Iowa. He made that happen, and up until very recently, Dan was still doing a lot of work for the Marshalltown Police Department and he was still doing a lot of volunteer work for the Reserve Police Officers Association.”

With 53 years of service under his belt, Tupper called Brandt his “hero” and said he would always be a member of the MPD team and family. The chief presented Brandt with an MPD blanket as a token of appreciation to another round of applause, and in a full circle moment, Tupper noted that Faas was wearing Brandt’s badge, which drew yet another round of applause.

The appointment of Faas was approved unanimously as part of the consent agenda.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.