Johnston council swears in two officers, promotes captain and public-safety IT manager

The Johnston City Council on an evening meeting swore in two newly hired officers and promoted two staff members in recognitions that officials said bolster local public safety capacity.

Chief (unnamed) introduced Officer Andrew Totti and Officer Jose Marquez, noting both were hired in August 2025 and graduated from the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy. The mayor administered the oath of office to both officers.

The council also promoted Anthony Yeager to police captain. The chief said Yeager has served more than 13 years in law enforcement and more than 17 years in the Iowa National Guard; family members pinned his new collar brass as part of the ceremony. The chief introduced Jason Hill as the newly promoted public safety support manager, citing his nearly two-decade IT career in local government and responsibilities supporting police and fire technology and digital evidence management.

During general comments, Council member Burkhart singled out a consent-agenda item that included purchase of a Raman spectrometer, saying the device can detect “over 5,000 different” substances and thanking the chief and partners for assembling multiple funding sources. Burkhart said the purchase relied on a mix of city funds, grants and contributions from Polk County and the Johnston Police Officers Association. The council had approved the consent agenda earlier in the meeting by roll call.

Mayor and other council members congratulated the officers and promoted staff, describing the changes as improvements to Johnston’s public-safety capabilities. No formal action was required for the recognitions beyond the oath ceremonies.

The council moved on after the recognitions to the remainder of the agenda.