BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Gainesville Police Department’s Public Information Officer (PIO) position has been vacant since January, but an experienced PIO will soon be stepping in – former Alachua County Sheriff’s Office PIO Art Forgey.

Forgey served as a sworn law enforcement officer in Missouri for 14 years and moved to Florida after he was injured. He served 21.5 years with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, with 18 of those as the PIO under three different Sheriffs. He retired in January and told Alachua Chronicle that he decided to continue to serve after GPD approached him about taking the position. Forgey said his greatest accomplishments are his two sons, who are “much more successful than I am” and living in Asheville, NC, and Washington, D.C.

Forgey confirmed to Alachua Chronicle that he will start work at Gainesville Police Department on May 12.