Four officers were sworn in last week to bring the force size to 71.
In a ceremony filled with pride and commitment, Plant City Police Department (PCPD) welcomed four new officers into its police force last week. The swearing-in event, held at police headquarters, brought together community members, city officials and the officers’ families to mark the beginning of a new chapter in their public service careers.
The four newly-minted officers, Benjamin Cundiff, Ryan Garcia, Gabriel Galvan and Demarcus Smith, took their oaths of office before an audience that included proud parents, spouses and children. Each officer stood tall, holding their right hand high and pledging to never betray their integrity, their character or the public trust, to always have the courage to hold themselves and other accountable for their actions and to always maintain the highest ethical standards and uphold the values of the community and the department.
Collectively, the new officers have prior law enforcement, corrections and military experience “It’s always exiting to hire new officers and they’re all from the local area,” said PCPD Chief James Bradford. “Plant City is a great place to be a police officer as you can make an impact on a community that loves its past, its culture and its people.”
For Cundiff, 22, a 2019 graduate of Plant City High School, his Army service and prior work as a deputy sheriff made him an ideal fit for the job. “I’ve always enjoyed serving, it’s what I did in the military and it’s what I want to continue to do,” he said.
He’s happy to be working in the town where he grew up. “I’m from Plant City and since I was a kid I always wanted to work for the Plant City Police Department, this is a dream,” he said.
The officers have successfully passed a grueling three-week orientation schedule and now will enter a four-month Field Training Program with veteran officers in the Uniform Patrol division.
Chief Bradford also presented Hungry Howie’s owner Ali Sobh with the Chief’s Award for his outstanding commitment to the community and the police department. Sobh randomly sends food to the station throughout the year just to show he cares. “He’s also sponsored us participating in local charity events, most currently he hosted the back-to-school giveaway,” said Bradford. “Knowing he cares not only for the police department but for the community as well is a testament to his giving back and investing in others. He seeks no recognition for his acts of kindness but deserves much more recognition than we can give him. He has a big heart.”
With the new hires, PCPD now has 71 positions filled but has 75 funded positions. “We’re still hiring,” said Bradford. “We hire fully-certified officers but if an applicant meets all the hiring criteria, we’ll pay their tuition at a full-time police academy, at the crossover academy if they’re currently corrections-certified or the equivalency of training academy for those who are Florida-certified and have an expired or out-of-state certification.”
For more information or to apply for a job with PCPD, visit plantcitygov.com/police.
