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SMPD is proud to announce today’s surprise promotions of a Sergeant, Lieutenant, and Captain.
 
San Mateo, CA – In a surprise announcement during a department training day, the San Mateo Police Department proudly announced the promotions of a Sergeant, Lieutenant, and it’s first-ever female Captain.
 
These advancements follow the departure of former Captain Matt Lethin, who was recently appointed Chief of Police for the San Bruno Police Department, creating a key vacancy in SMPD’s Chain of Command. Like dominos, a Captain’s promotion leads to a Lieutenant’s promotion and a Lieutenant’s promotion leads to a Sergeant’s promotion. But what makes this recent round of promotions so special is that we are honored to promote our first-ever female Captain, Jen Maravillas. 
 
Lieutenant Maravillas, who will celebrate her 20^th anniversary with our department in December, will assume her Captain role effective this Sunday, June 22, 2025. A San Mateo native, Maravillas, a lateral from the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, came to us in 2005, was promoted to Sergeant in 2013, and then to Lieutenant in 2021. While she is currently one of two female Lieutenant’s on Chief Ed Barberini’s Command Staff, she was hired by Susan Manheimer, the department’s first female Police Chief. Aside from Manheimer, Maravillas will now officially be known as the department’s second highest ranking female in its 118-year history.
 
Joining Maravillas in promotion are both Sergeant Steve Casazza (22-year veteran) and Officer Kevin Brazil (11-year veteran). Effective Sunday, July 20, 2025, Casazza will join the PD’s Command Staff as a Patrol Lieutenant and Brazil will become a Patrol Sergeant. Both are extremely dedicated members of our agency and well-respected officers within the county. They will return to service in San Mateo, leaving vacancies in the ancillary positions they currently are assigned to within the San Mateo County Gang Intelligence Unit (GIU) and Vehicle Theft Task Force (VTTF) respectively.
 
“I’m incredibly proud to announce the promotions of Captain Jen Maravillas, Lieutenant Steve Casazza, and Sergeant Kevin Brazil. Each of these individuals exemplifies the dedication, leadership, and professionalism that define our department. I’m confident they will continue to serve our community with integrity, compassion, and respect in their new roles” says Chief Barberini.
 
An official promotion ceremony will be held later this year, but for now, the three received this surprising news alongside, friends, colleagues, and family who were sworn to secrecy leading up to today’s events. We wish all three success in their new roles and look forward to watching them continue to move our department forward.

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