La Salle patrolman Alex Doll puts the community first

At age 8, Alex Doll was riding around the block on his bike when he lost his balance and fell off. A local police officer checked to see if he was alright. This seemingly small gesture left an impression.

“It just always kind of stood out to me,” Doll said. “You didn’t have to stop. You could have looked at me and saw I was totally fine. But the fact that he took his time out really stood out. I saw it as something I would like to do. I always admired the military and law enforcement. ... I decided those were my paths.”

I saw it as something I would like to do. I always admired the military and law enforcement. ... I decided those were my paths.”

—  Alex Doll, La Salle police officer

Doll, who grew up in the Illinois Valley, said he joined the Marines in 2016 after he had his first son.

“I was 19,” he said. “I was not at all where I wanted to be in life maturity-wise and I wanted to be a better role model for him. And once I was done with that pursue a career in law enforcement.”

He was promoted to sergeant during the four years and was deployed from 2018 to 2019 for 11 months in the Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Doll said they visited 14 countries during their tour. MEU is a quick response unit on standby, so if anything happens in the area, there is someone there.

Doll said being in the military only furthered his law enforcement ambitions. When he returned home from the Marines and saw that La Salle was testing, he immediately took the test.

“I knew that I wanted to work in La Salle,” he said. “It was about a year later I got a call to start and go to the academy.”

He has been a patrolman with the city of La Salle for two years.

Doll lives in La Salle with his growing family. He has two sons who are 9 and 4 months, and his fiance Meghan Vasin is a teacher at Northview Elementary in Peru.

He said La Salle was the only option for him because he wants to work in the community he lives in to grow and have the greatest impact.

“It’s why I took the job for people in the community,” he said.

Kyle Zellmer of Lacon has been friends with Doll for 10 years and said Doll cares about his community and is very dependable and motivated in everything he does.

“He is very dedicated,” he said. “He wants to be good for the people of La Salle.”

Doll said protecting and serving is the most important aspect of his job. He said anytime he can get out in the community to make an impact he attends.

“Anytime an event comes up, where we can get out and communicate with people it’s rewarding,” he said. “I feel like that’s something as a police officer you have to do.”

Doll said he would like to become a field training officer and eventually patrol sergeant for La Salle to continue to help people in this job but in a different way.

“I would like to teach them things that kept me on track,” he said. “Or things that pushed me to do better. I’ve just always enjoyed helping people.”

Field Training Officer Frank Bray said Doll always comes in ready and excited to be there, which isn’t the case for everyone.

“He has aspirations to do more and that’s nice to have,” Bray said. “Because then you have someone who is motivated to progress and better themselves for the department.”

Doll said selflessness is his biggest drive to improve and be prepared for any situation.

“To me, it would be selfish not to be on track for those people that need it,” he said.

Bray said Doll is committed to enhancing the community, much like many other officers on the force.

“Right now, how things are it’s not always the best environment for police officers,” he said. “So, with new officers coming in eager to try and help the community and make things better. It’s nice to see. Because it’s not always the easiest job.”

Doll said he wants every La Salle resident to know law enforcement is here to help, whether they realize it or not.

“We are here for you,” he said. “Anything you need. We’re happy to help.”