There’s a new face downtown. Plant City Police Department officer Priscilla Clark recently was named the department’s new downtown officer, who patrols the historic district and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Clark has been at the department for two-and-one-half years and came to the department from her position as a Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco investigator. After 14 years, she was ready to make the switch back to municipal work.
“I was just ready for a change of pace” Clark said. “I heard great things about Plant City and about the police department.”
Clark was just a teenager when she decided she wanted a career in law enforcement. But, she got married young and moved from California to Florida with her former husband. She put everything aside to raise her children.
The itch came back. After about three years in Florida, she decided to work as a dispatcher in Winter Haven. At the same time, she was sponsored to attend the academy. Once she graduated, Clark continued to work as a dispatcher, waiting for her chance to be on the force.
When a position opened up in Lake Wales, she applied. The department snatched her up and gave Clark her first beat.
“It was great, because it helped me understand both sides and the stressors they go through in dispatch and on the streets,” Clark said of her work on both sides of the department.
While at Lake Wales Police Department, Clark worked undercover on a case with Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco. After wrapping up the case, they asked her to apply with their office. As a bilingual woman, she was an asset. She was happy at Lake Wales but applied anyway after talking to her supervisor.
The department encouraged her to go farther in her career. She got the job.
“My favorite thing there was fraud cases,” Clark said.
Clark helped bust up the manufacturing of fake identification cards. Her work led her all over Central Florida. For her first case, she found herself in an Orlando dorm room, where one student was manufacturing more than fake IDs.
Now, she’s keeping the streets and youth of Plant City safe. She works as a Hispanic liaison, as well.
“I really enjoy (working here),” Clark said. “The people are great. I love the department.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.