DEVILS LAKE (AP) - Nanette Martin, who retires this week as a captain in the Devils Lake Police Department, says growing up in a family of nine helped her learn to stand up for herself. It's a lesson that has served her well during her 28 years on the job.

Her colleagues say Martin, 53, is the first woman to hold the rank of captain in the Devils Lake Police Department. Her last day on the job is Friday.

"I've got arthritis in my joints and back pain," she said. "I've been having these problems for a couple of years and I just decided it's time to go."

Martin joined the Devils Lake Police Department in September 1980, as a patrolwoman. She considered being a history teacher but decided the criminal justice field was more interesting.

Police Chief Bruce Kemmet said the police force has 19 people, led by him, the captain and three sergeants. Martin's gender was "absolutely not" an issue, he said.

Martin said the job was more physical when she started. She got knocked down a few times, but she could handle it.

"There were nine in my family," she said. "I had five brothers, so I learned how to defend myself at an early age."

Tactics have changed for officers. "Now, you don't have to go hands-on right away," she said.

Martin said she encountered danger as a police officer, but she also made a lot of friends and, hopes she helped a lot of people.

"Every once in a while, you run into one that just doesn't agree with you," Martin said. "You learn to work around them or with them. A lot of them, I'd work with again if I was younger."

Martin said she won't miss the "daily grind," but she'll miss her colleagues, who are like family. She plans to stay in the area where she's spent most of her life.

"I was always taught, 'You treat people the way you want to be treated, and you'll get along fine in the world,'" she said. "My grandma instilled that in me at a young age and I found that the majority of the time, it was true."