The Issaquah Police Department recently welcomed a new sergeant into its ranks.

Sgt. Laura Asbell, who has been with Issaquah Police for nearly nine years, moved up the ranks when Commander Stan Conrad’s retirement caused a shift in positions.

Before stepping into the role of sergeant at the beginning of July, Asbell was a detective.

“I’m looking forward to a new challenge,” Asbell said. “There’s a lot to learn.”

Asbell said that the new title comes with “more responsibility” and oversight of the officers.

“You have to make sure you’re getting the officers what they need, that they’re supported, and taken care of professionally and personally,” she said.

Law enforcement has been a lifelong calling for Asbell, a Tacoma native. While studying at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, where she double-majored in political science and sociology and minored in communications, Asbell also found time to intern at the nearby Lawrence Police Department.

“Law enforcement always appealed to me … even when I was young, it was something that I wanted to do,” she said. “I always looked up to police officers; it was a profession that gave you an opportunity to make a difference.”

After graduation in 2007, Asbell returned to her home state of Washington to join the Issaquah Police Department, and it was not long before she herself was making a difference in town. In May 2012, then-Officer Asbell and three police colleagues became the first police officers from Issaquah to earn the Washington State Law Enforcement Medal of Honor. The team took down a shooter on Clark Elementary School’s campus in September 2011.

While events like these are rarities, Asbell notes that, especially in light of the recent tragedy in Dallas, it is important for law enforcement to be prepared for anything, and this is why police train so rigorously for every kind of situaton. “We always have to be vigilant … while protecting the rights of the people we’ve sworn to protect,” she said.