Polk County Sheriff’s Phone# 863-298-6200
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News and Investigations
News & Investigations
News Releases and Public Information
Welcome to the Polk County Sheriff's Office News Room, where the Public Information Officers (PIO's) post all of the information that they release to the news media. PIO's act as liaisons between news media organizations and the Sheriff's Office. The PIO's routinely release timely and accurate information and Crime Stoppers bulletins, and respond to routine and "breaking news" media inquiries. News releases and Crime Stoppers information can be found on this page.
PCSO's full-time Public Information Officers are Brian Bruchey, Carrie Horstman, and Alicia Manautou. The Public Information Officers can be reached by sending an e-mail collectively at PIOs@polksheriff.org.
The recent news releases sent out by the PIOs can be found here, and archived releases (older than 2017) can be found here.
Jul 1, 2024
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office welcomes new Public Information Officer
Media Contact: Meghan Petty, PIO
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is pleased to announce the addition of Meghan Petty to our team as a Public Information Officer. She brings a wealth of digital communications experience and a strong commitment to serving the citizens of Polk County with integrity, compassion, accountability, and professionalism.
Meghan joins us with three years of experience in social media and marketing management. She has a proven track record of effective communication using data to transform social media and marketing strategies. Meghan holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Florida International University. She is fluent in English and Spanish, and is actively learning both French and Portuguese.
“I am excited about Meghan joining our Polk County Sheriff’s Office family. I look forward to her positive contributions to engage and keep our citizens informed about Polk County’s quality of life, our historically low crime rate, and ways we can all work together to promote and protect public safety.” –Grady Judd, Sheriff
“I am honored to be joining the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and look forward to working for such a meaningful and mission-centered public safety organization,” said Meghan. “Together, we will continue to build on the agency’s strong commitment to keeping the public informed about vital public safety information and delivering the highest possible level of customer service.”
She can be reached at mpetty@polksheriff.org, (863) 298-6631, or via the PIO On-Call cellphone (863)370-0040.