The sky has always been the limit for Earl Cowan, a licensed pilot who nonetheless started on the ground floor as a patrol officer with the Swinomish Police Department a decade ago.

Cowan, 38, a Texas native who grew up in Florida, has since earned his wings with the tribal force, having been named to succeed Lou D’Amelio as chief of police last week.

“I am blessed to work for an amazing community and to have a solid, talented group of law enforcement professionals on my team,” Cowan, who has steadily risen through the department’s ranks, told the Weekly News on Monday.

In his nearly 11 years with Swinomish Police, Cowan has worked on regular patrol, as a corporal, sergeant, field training officer, and lieutenant, and as a detective. He has built key relationships while filling those various roles.

“I have spent many years getting to know our community,” Cowan said, “and I am honored to have been asked to take on this responsibility.”

Cowan has served under four police chiefs since 2010, among them Rick Balam, who returned briefly on an interim basis in 2015 for a second tour at the head of the department.

D’Amelio, a 25-year veteran of the Anacortes Police Department, left Swinomish in August. He became chief in November 2016.

“We have seen a lot of transition over the years,” Cowan said, “but I believe the team that I have working with me now is the best we’ve ever had at Swinomish and I’m grateful to be part of it.

“I’m blessed,” he added, “to have a team that truly invests themselves in the greater good for the Swinomish community.”

That team includes both male and female officers and reflects the area’s diverse population.

While at Swinomish, Cowan has enjoyed broad support with tribal members appreciative of his efforts in outreach and proactive policing. Building trust has been a top priority since Day One and will continue to be so, Cowan vowed.

“Our job,” he said, “is to take care of our community and we do that by building and earning trust, solving problems, and connecting people with resources.

“The most important thing to me as a chief of police is trust,” Cowan stressed. “The community must trust us to do our job well and we just earn this trust every day on every call for service.”

Cowan’s original plan was to join the U.S. Air Force and train as a helicopter search and rescue pilot. After that, he planned to fly police helicopters in retirement.

But plans often have a way of changing. They did for Cowan.

“That didn’t work out,” he said of flying with a military search and rescue unit, “so I became a police officer after graduating from college.”

Prior to moving to Washington state, Cowan was able to realize his dream of flying with a sheriff’s office.

His transition to law enforcement has been mostly seamless. At Swinomish, for example, he has continued to be a pilot – with the department’s drone program, an eye in the sky that helps officers track suspects, search for missing persons and identify sources of wildfires.

Cowan’s career has literally taken off since his arrival at Swinomish. He has spent several years as a Federal Bureau of Investigation task force officer, assigned to the Northwestern Safe Trails division, whose purpose is to combat drugs and violent crime on Native American reservations in the region.

Cowan’s work has not gone unnoticed. Last year he received an FBI award in recognition of his service on the task force.

Cowan greatly values interaction with the Bureau and other law enforcement entities.

“I want to continue to grow our relationships with our federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies,” he said. “Crime affects us all and knows no borders, so we must all work together effectively. We are blessed to have great relationships within our county, but we can and will continue to expand those relationships.”

Swinomish Police and the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office, for instance, frequently render mutual aid in the La Conner area, as was the case when there was an armed robbery at Amaryllis boutique on First Street in October.

Cowan said public service is at the heart of such police teamwork.

“The most rewarding aspect of working in law enforcement is when you can actually make a difference for a victim,” Cowan said. “Whether that be recovering stolen property, sending a convict to prison or simply helping someone with a life problem they are facing.”

Away from work, Cowan enjoys spending time with his family, traveling and reading.

“Hopefully, one day, I’ll get back to flying again,” he said.

But, for now, Cowan is perfectly happy hitting the ground running as the new Swinomish police chief.