PUBLISHED SEPT. 1, 2016
HCSO hires new CSO for Riverview substation
By LOIS KINDLE
LOIS KINDLE PHOTO
Ava Garrett, the new community service officer for the Riverview substation at 7416 Commerce St., is shown with Community Resource Deputy Cliff Fletcher outside the Sun City Center substation, one of two sites where she is training.
Ava Garrett may be new to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, but she is by no means new to law enforcement.
The new community service officer for the HCSO Riverview substation is replacing longtime CSO Barbara Jones, who retired earlier this year after more than two decades of service. She will assist Master Deputy Cliff Fletcher, Riverview’s community resource deputy for the past 10 years.
Currently training with experienced community service officers Debbie Vijil, of the Sun City Center substation, and Sandy Capitano, of the Bloomingdale substation, Garrett will work with the public, answer phone calls, file reports, field complaints and help residents with all types of fraud reports. She will be active in the Riverview community, working annual events like the Trick or Treat Street, the HCSO Christmas for Seniors dinner, Boys & Girls Club Backpack Giveaway and more, and she will represent the sheriff’s office at Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce functions.
“Once I get familiar with all the reports and computer program, I’ll start working in Riverview,” she said. She and Fletcher estimated that will probably be in early September.
Prior to moving from Avon Park to Plant City to be closer to her aging mother, Garrett worked as a community supervisor for the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. She retired on her birthday last year after 30 years on the job and started with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office this month.
“During my year of transition, my husband and I remodeled our house and began entering monthly bass tournaments together as members of Bass Masters,” she said. “I played for a year, and then decided to come back to work,” she said, grinning.
Harris added her largest catch was a 5-pound, 6-ounce beauty on Lake Harris, which is northwest of Orlando in Lake County.
Born in Dade City and raised in Plant City, Garrett was the youngest of five children. Her father was the Lake County chief of police during the mid ’70s, and she grew up wanting to follow in his footsteps.
“When he would get a call, I’d run and jump into his car,” she recalled.
Desiring to work law enforcement in a different area than her dad, Garrett became a police officer for the City of Edgewood. At the same time, she also took the job as community supervisor in Orange County, where she worked for three decades.
Garrett is now a resident of Dover.
The Riverview community substation at 7416 Commerce St. is currently part of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Dist. IV Command. For additional information or assistance, call 813-247-0455 or 813-672-7822.
