LA GRANDE — When Kris Rasmussen joined the La Grande Police Department in 1996, she had no idea that she was going to be the longest-ever serving female police officer for the department.

“I’ve always wanted to be a cop since I was a kid,” Rasmussen said. “Now I can say that I fulfilled my dream.”

Now, 25 years and more than 100,000 calls later, Rasmussen is retiring from her role as sergeant with the La Grande Police Department at the end of July. She leaves behind big shoes to fill.

“To summarize her performance, she gets an A-plus grade and she is our most valuable player,” La Grande Police Lt. Jason Hays said. “She’s just amazing in every way. She has a very strong work ethic, she’s very compassionate, she’s very friendly, she is just a top performer in every way.”

Rasmussen has lived in La Grande since she was six months old. After graduating from Eastern Oregon University with a degree in psychology, she worked at the Union County Jail, which she remembers as being much different than today.

“I remember that we would give Christmas passes so the inmates could get out of jail for the holiday,” Rasmussen said.

After a few years, she transferred to the police department to work as a police officer, where she quickly proved herself as a strong law enforcement officer.

“She was one of my field training officers,” Hays, who joined the force two years after Rasmussen, said. “She helped modernize policing around here from the old school way of thinking. She’s demonstrated that not only can women do this job, they can excel.”

Over the last 25 years, Rasmussen has filled many roles.

“I was a field training officer after two years working here,” she said. “I was a K9 officer for a couple of years, worked narcotics for a while. I was a criminal detective, I worked SWAT, first sniper and entry and then I became the crisis negotiation team leader.”

She also worked with Hays to run the annual Shop with a Cop event the police department has sponsored since 2009.

According to Rasmussen, she enjoyed all of these roles, but her favorite assignment was always being out on patrol.

“I could’ve gone back to investigation, but I enjoy working with the young guys,” Rasmussen said. “I like the adrenaline rush. I would’ve never liked a 8 to 5 normal desk job. I like the challenge of police work.”

According to Rasmussen, the adrenaline rush never goes away. Just last year, she remembers the rush she felt when she was called to throw a spike strip down to stop a driver in a stolen vehicle.

According to Rasmussen’s husband, Steve, she has been a great asset to the La Grande Police Department because she is truly devoted to her community.

“She cares a lot about the community and all the people here,” he said. “And she has a lot more confidence now. She’s at the point where, regardless of the situation, she’s probably dealt with it before.”

After responding to roughly 100,000 calls, Rasmussen has certainly seen it all. Reflecting on her time with the department, she sees all that growth and progress that she has experienced.

“The best part of it all has been working with this great team,” she said. “I’ve become a lot more patient. I used to be all about ‘go, go, go,’ but once you see the newer guys come in and they start to fill that role, then you get to step back a little bit and let them do it their own way, and that’s taught me a lot.”

Now, the couple plans on moving to Western Montana to enjoy fishing, hunting and renovating their new home. Rasmussen is confident that she is leaving the department in good hands.

“They’re a lot of fun to work with, and they keep you young,” she said. “It’s been fun working with them and training them, we just have a fantastic team.”