Dublin Police Department officially welcomed Quinten Sells as its newest officer as he was sworn-in Friday, Sept. 9.
Sells’ road to this new post has been winding but it came very naturally.
“My family are all firefighters,”said the Plainview native.
His stepfather is the fire chief in Plainview and his biological dad is the assistant fire chief in Dripping Springs for North Hays.
Sells wanted to follow the family footsteps but didn’t quite gel in fire academy and getting his EMT Basic. He decided to pursue another avenue to public service and went into academy for law enforcement.
“It came very naturally,” Sells said.
He had got a job at the jail in Plainview, and it was there that he knew law enforcement was a good fit, getting inspired by talking to both the officers and inmates.
Sells felt like he could make bigger difference as an officer out in the community and not “sitting in the back of the jail 24/7” “I have a heart to help people,” Sells said. “[Law enforcement] is not about taking people to jail and writing tickets; it’s about being there for people in their toughest times.”
After completing academy in 2019, Sells’ first post was in Floydada, where he said the commute and travel were not great.
He transitioned to Hale Center, where he met the woman who has become his fiancé, Shelby.
She is a Stephenville native, who was working in Tahoka (near Lubbock).
The couple decided to come back to this area after getting involved.
Sells started applying for jobs in the area and was originally taken on by Hamilton County before Dublin Police Chief Cameron Ray called with the job offer after meeting him.
Offering a better daily drive and a community like those he has served, Sells accepted the position.
“Dublin is very communityoriented,” said Sells. “My first thought [in visiting Dublin] was these people actually get along with each other. I grew up in Plainview and worked in smaller departments. Being in Dublin has that same feeling.
Sells is currently working on getting his EMT Basic from Ranger College and has long term goals of getting fire investigator/ inspector licenses to become a fire marshal.
For now, though, he is enjoying getting to know the offi cers in the department and looks forward to learning the streets and meeting the people of Dublin.