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Talia Rowberry practices handcuffing another participant during a special spouses-only version of the Provo Police Department's Citizens Academy.

Courtesy Provo Police Department

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Wives of Provo Police Department officers attend a Citizen's Academy class.

Courtesy Provo Police Department

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Laura Palmer practices rappelling during the Provo Police Department's Citizens Academy.

Courtesy Provo Police Department

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For seven weeks, 12 Provo police wives have learned about drugs, K-9s, mountain rescues, shooting a gun and other things their husbands deal with on the job as part of the Provo’s Citizen’s Academy.

Under the direction of Sgt. Carter Grow with Provo’s Community Oriented Policing team, the fall academy was offered only to the spouses of officers, particularly those who are newer to the department. They graduated Oct. 12.

“For this latest fall session, we decided to hold an unprecedented Provo-police-spouse’s-only academy,” Grow said. “This session was special. I believe that each of the spouses that attended the academy had their eyes opened to something they did not quite understand before attending the academy.”

For Laura Palmer it not only opened her eyes to some of the split-second decisions and pressures her husband is under daily, but it also brought her closer to the other wives.

“There was more camaraderie. We go through our own stuff and it’s nice to have a group to share with,” Palmer said. “A lot of wives have more understanding why husbands come home and need to decompress.”

Palmer noted that she feels like marriages have been strengthened because they were able to get just a little taste of policing.

She said she realized the split-second decisions police officers are called to make “would have taken four weeks and a committee in normal situations.”

“There were many conversations had during the academy that I could tell were going to be impactful to these spouses and their families,” Grow said. “I consider the all-spouses academy to be a great success, and I know this because I have had several officers approach me since the start of the academy to ask when we are going to hold another session like this, because their spouse would like to attend as well.”

Grow noted that one of the most impactful conversations that was had during the academy was how the spouses could best support their police officer at home.

“This brought up a discussion about physiological and psychological changes that happen to a police officer throughout their careers,” Grow said.

The book “Emotional Survival For Law Enforcement” was discussed, and the spouses were encouraged to read it. The book is written by Kevin Gilmartin, who is a police veteran from Tuscon, Arizona. Gilmartin wrote the book to highlight the changes that occur in police officers during their first few years of service, and how to best combat some of the negative changes that can occur.

“This book has helped a lot of police families work through the stress and trauma of being a police officer,” Grow added.

Talia Rowberry thought she was marrying a man who was going to be a lawyer — he was smart enough, she said. However, he didn’t like a lot of school so he started at the police academy. Now, Sgt. Austin Rowberry is a 12-year veteran. He does a lot of undercover assignments, particularly working with drugs.

“It was nice not to have a tragedy to bring us all together,” Rowberry said. Still, all of them got the chance to be tased.

For the last night of their training, the women were put in real-time scenarios with air guns in their hands. They were put through a few situations involving single and multiple shooters, including children with weapons. One featured a man with a gun who had been fired and was threatening several people plus himself.

“He was saying ‘I don’t want to live,'” Rowberry said. “Some of us missed then shot. He went in to shoot others. I saw it as a threat to humanity.”

In another scenario, two kids were in a barn, the youngest 14. The 14-year-old girl came out with her hands up, her younger brother behind her. She pulled out a knife and came at them the brother had a gun. They had to decide: kill or be killed.

“My thought process deep down is everyone is good but some make bad decisions,” Rowberry said. “That’s where trained officers come in.”

As for the academy itself, Rowberry said, “I wish I had this early on in our marriage. It’s going to save a lot more marriages.”

“Overall, I consider the all-spouses academy to have been a great success. I’m looking forward to hosting another one someday,” Grow said.

The Citizen’s Academy is a seven-week course, held on Wednesday nights from 6-9:30 p.m. On these nights, class lessons provide many different facets of policing in Provo. They highlight the patrol division, K-9 division, drug enforcement team, SWAT, mountain rescue, detectives, dispatch and the bomb squad. There are many hands-on activities that keep the citizens engaged and active, according to Grow.

“The purpose of the academy is to educate about our police department but also to help bridge the divide that can sometimes exist between police and community members,” he said. “We do this by trying to help community members understand exactly what we do and what it may be like to be a police officer.”

Grow added the Citizen’s Academy “has helped to forge relationships of trust with the public that oftentimes turn to friendships by the time the academy is finished.”

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