When King County Sheriff John Urquhart introduced new Sammamish Police Chief Michelle Bennett at a City Council meeting on Oct. 4, he called Bennett “the best” candidate for the job.

What he didn’t mention, nor did anyone else at the meeting, was that in hiring Bennett, Sammamish had its first female police chief since the city incorporated in 1999.

Such a detail may seem like kind of a big deal, but it really hasn’t been mentioned around City Hall. City Manager Lyman Howard said Bennett being Sammamish’s first female chief of police hadn’t occurred to him when she was brought on board. He noted of the four finalists for the job, two were women.

“I think we’re in a good situation where it’s not such a big thing,” Howard said.

Bennett acknowledged but also downplayed the role. It happens to be familiar territory for the 26-year veteran of the King County Sheriff’s Office. Stepping into her new Sammamish job marks the second time Bennett has become a landmark hire. She was also the first female police chief in Maple Valley in 2004.

“I remember going into a Starbucks and there was a group of gentlemen, who were more senior in age, sitting at a table and one was sort of staring at me. He’s like, ‘What are those stars on your collar?’ Is that a real bullet-proof vest? Do you really put bullets in your gun?'” she laughingly recalled. “The education piece is important. I think we’ve evolved, it’s not that anomalous, but nationwide there is about 11 percent women in the police department, so obviously we’re not at the population of 50 percent, which is our demographic.

“People ask me sometimes, ‘In a more male-dominated profession, it must be difficult.’ I don’t think about it that way, it just doesn’t occur to me in that realm,” she said. “It’s your skill level and what kind of work you do. I don’t think gender plays in to it.”

Sammamish’s new chief of police is quite decorated and has a diverse educational background. Bennett grew up bouncing around the Northwest. She was born in Richland, then moved with her family to Moscow, Idaho, and then to Moses Lake before attending high school and college in Shoreline. Bennett holds a bachelor’s in law and justice from Shoreline Community College, a master’s from Central Washington University in organizational development and behavior and a doctorate from Seattle Pacific University in education with an emphasis in curriculum and instruction. She’s been an instructor with the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command since 2008, and has also taught at Shoreline Community College and Central Washington commuter campuses.

But from a young age, she knew she wanted to be a cop.

“When people say 26 years, I always joke that I started when I was 8,” she said of her time with the Sheriff’s Office. “I think as a young kid, you watch all the cops and robber shows. Something about it, the sense of justice and helping other people, I know it sounds a little corny, but the idea of helping other people, making a difference, protecting them from something that never should’ve happened, that was always so appealing in a justice sense for me.”

Bennett worked as the Maple Valley police chief for a decade before taking on an administrative position with the King County Sheriff’s Office in Seattle. Among her responsibilities was diversity recruiting, sometimes “planting the seed” with young people who may have shared the same career interests Bennett had growing up.

She recalled going to an elementary school — where a kindergartner expressed she wanted to be a police officer when she grew up — with a few of her female colleagues.

“A bunch of kids in the class had never even seen a female police officer. We went on recess outside, and I guess that’s what it feels like to be a rock star,” she said with a laugh, noting the kids crowding around the officers in their uniforms. “That stuff is really what it’s all about, that community connection and [showing that] we’re people and we relate and if you have any questions, come to us if you need help. And for the young girls, as they become young women, this is something you can do. This is a career you can choose if you want.”

Bennett admits she used to razz her predecessor, Nate Elledge, that if he ever thought of leaving his position, she would be interested. But she was surprised when that moment actually came. She said taking over as Sammamish police chief provided her the opportunity to once again work closely in the community.

“[Sammamish] had always been a city I wanted to be in,” she said. “It’s a beautiful community, it’s got a great population of citizens and people and it’s growing, which for me is really exciting.”

Bennett said she’s been keeping busy getting to know her officers as well as setting up outreach efforts to become acquainted with different community members and organizations. At night, she goes home to her other job. Bennett is a mother of three, with a teenage son and two 3-year-old twins.

As a new face in the Sammamish Police Department, Bennett said she believes it’s good to have as much diversity as possible.

“Every person, male or female, brings different things into the job,” she said. “The more that we have that diversity and represent our communities, the better that we can relate and assist.

“I think this is a good fit for me, Sammamish specifically and the job and what it entails,” she said. “I’m really happy to be here.”