Plant City Police Department Officer Andrea Owen will take over as the primary officer in Historic Downtown and surrounding areas on Saturday, Jan. 7.
Andrea Owen always knew she wanted to be a cop.
“I’ve always wanted to be one, since I was a kid,” Owen, a 20-year veteran with the Plant City Police Department, said. “I was a police explorer when I was 14.”
Owen will take over as the primary officer in Historic Downtown Plant City and its surrounding neighborhoods this month. She’s been training for the job with Officer Priscilla Clark, who has had the gig for the last two years.
“They like to rotate the position every few years,” Owen said. “I’ve been on patrol for awhile and wanted to see how it goes.”
Though working in law enforcement has always been her dream, Owen didn’t pursue her passion right away.
Changing Course
As a high school student, Owen participated in on-the-job training by working as a receptionist at a nursing home. When she graduated, she went into the banking industry as a teller, still involved as a police explorer.
Owen was still working as a teller one year later in December. As she stood behind the counter, Christmas light earrings in her ear, two people entered the bank.
They were armed. There was no glass wall separating the tellers from the robbers. A third suspect was waiting outside in a getaway car.
“They jumped the counter,” Owen said. “One guy had a semi-automatic weapon. That’s what was frustrating. I knew what it was from shooting, from being a police explorer.”
Even so, she didn’t have the power to do anything — except watch. As she handed over money, she kept her eyes down, observing without making the robbers aware of her intentions.
“I was young when that happened,” Owen said. “I was worried I was going to get shot, initially. It was just stressful.”
After the incident, Owen decided it was finally time to pursue her dream of becoming a police officer.
Still, there were other challenges. Scholarships for the police academy were no longer offered through the Tampa Police Department, and Owen didn’t have the funds to put herself through the academy on her own.
Luckily, her family was able to help. Owen’s parents loaned her the money, which she paid back once she got hired on the force.
She’s been at the Plant City Police Department ever since.
“I’m not really a college kind of person,” she said. “It took about five months to get hired. You have to go through a psychiatrist, physicals and a background check. They also
talk to your neighbors.”
For much of her time with the department, Owen has been a citywide officer. When a fellow officer is out sick, she fills in to cover the area.
Now, she’s looking forward to serving the Winter Strawberry Capital of the World in a different capacity.
“We’re just going to see how things go,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the change of the job. It’s more community-oriented. I’m pretty easy going and laid back, but I’m straightforward.”
She’s looking forward to helping residents and business owners, as well.
“I’ll let the merchants know I’m downtown,” she said. “I’ll ask them if they have any needs, any problems. I want to know the needs of the residents in the area.”
Owen will officially take over the downtown beat, which includes the city’s government housing and outreach center, on Saturday, Jan. 7.
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
