Lawrence police Sgt. Bronson Star greets a line of new recruits after a promotion ceremony Monday at the Police Department Investigations and Training Center. Star was promoted as the department’s newest patrol sergeant. He has recently served as a detective. In background at right is Star’s son Tristan, 13, who attended the event.

When Bronson Star was a Haskell Indian Nations University student in the mid-1990s, he learned from Lawrence police chief Ron Olin, one of his instructors.

That connection helped jump-start Star’s career with the Lawrence Police Department, when he began in 1999.

At a Monday morning ceremony, his former Haskell instructor — and current boss — promoted Star as the department’s newest patrol sergeant. Star has recently served as a detective.

“He is a very tenacious investigator, and he has a set of investigative skills and understanding of things like chain of command and the operation of the department that really made him stand out against his competitors,” Olin said.

Star hoped his promotion can inspire the current class of Lawrence police recruits who looked on.

“I never thought I’d be standing up here with stripes on my collar,” Star said. “When I started out, my whole goal was to be able to make it as a police officer. It’s a tough, stressful job. I wanted to be able to help motivate those guys and show them if they put the hard work in, they’ll be up here someday, too.”

Star’s 13-year-old son, Tristan, and Olin pinned the stripes on Star’s collar during the ceremony at the Investigations and Training Center, 4820 Bob Billings Parkway. Star will work as a leader on the midnight shift, which is standard for promotions, Olin said.

In his Lawrence career, Star has served as both a patrol officer and a detective, including a stint on a joint city-county drug investigative unit. He said experience in both areas will help in his new job.

“When I get out there on the street, I need to be able to decide if we need more resources or just go from there,” he said.

Sgt. Matt Sarna, who took over Monday as the main police spokesman, said the department is working on promoting an officer to detective to replace Star.