BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Washington State Patrol troopers attended the college graduation of Emily Hanger at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington on June 16.
Hanger's father, Detective Brent Hanger, died on Aug. 6, 2016 after suffering a heart attack while on assignment in Yakima County.
Just before the graduation ceremony, "Emily's mother Lisa gave Emily her father's badge to accompany her as she walked across the stage," the State Patrol said in a blog post.
The State Patrol says after graduation from Western, Emily now plans to join her father as a WSP trooper and will be the first child of a fallen officer to make it through the State Patrol's 'commissioned officer hiring process.'
Emily is expected to be commissioned by Gov. Jay Inslee next year after spending the next several months in training.
State Patrol officials offered Emily the chance to take her father's badge number out of retirement when she joins the force, but Emily "told a WSP recruiter that she wants to blaze her own path within the agency."
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