Feb. 4—Officer Dylan Evans' path to his new role a public information officer with the Owensboro Police Department was unusual.

"I wanted to be a sportscaster. In high school, that was something I wanted to do," Evans said. "I have a big passion for sports."

Evans, 31, played football as a student at Apollo High School, and had interest in all kinds of sports.

After graduating from Apollo, Evans began studying broadcast journalism, and received his degree in broadcasting from Western Kentucky University.

Evans was hired by Evansville television station WFIE, and commuted from Owensboro to Evansville daily for work.

But after working in broadcast news for a time, Evans "decided it wasn't for me," Evans said. When he began thinking about a new line of work, Evans said he wanted to do something to help his home town.

"I take great pride in being from Owensboro. Owensboro is a great city," Evans said.

Law enforcement appealed, because it was a chance to assist the public, he said.

"If you can make a difference in someone's life, whatever that may be, that's the reward I was looking for — and what better way to that than in your home city?" he said.

When Evans decided to become an officer, "I never wanted to work anywhere but the Owensboro Police Department," he said.

As all new officers at OPD do, Evans started in the patrol division. Evans said he enjoyed working with people, helping them at calls for service, providing resources or just letting people talk through their problems.

"Sometimes, they just need someone to listen to them," he said.

When the opportunity apply for the position of public information officer came about, Evans said he saw it as a chance to put his broadcast experience to use.

"If you ask my family and friends, they would say I'm probably the perfect person for this position," he said. "I'm always up on the news."

The public information officer handles inquiries from the media, writes releases about incidents and arrests and appears on radio and TV on behalf of the department. As part of the Support Services division, Evans will also be involved with police officer recruitment and hiring.

"Immediately I was interested," Evans said, and that the position was an opportunity to "showcase the great work our (department) does."