C I T I Z E N
P LICE by Steve Gamel | photos courtesy of Erica Boehme
Y
ou would have thought Rikki Boehmer had just been handed a winning lottery ticket when her husband and daughter slid a piece of their monthly water bill across the table seven years ago. Attached to the bill was an advertisement from the Flower Mound Citizen Police Academy’s upcoming set of classes. “They knew I’d been interested in police work since I was a kid,” Boehmer said. “I was all-in right away.” Though her time in the citizens police academy didn’t lead to Boehmer being issued a badge, gun, bulletproof vest, or even a patrol car, it did give her an intimate look at what goes on behind the scenes. This included learning all about recruitment, training, narcotics, firearms, K-9, crime scene analysis, and divisions such as Traffic, SWAT, Patrol, and Criminal Investigation. More importantly, they were eligible to join 14 | FLOWER MOUND TOWN LIFE | OCTOBER 2021
the Flower Mound Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association, volunteer with the PD, and participate in patrol work, where they could further develop lasting relationships with the officers who selflessly protect and serve the community.
— not just seeing all the different divisions, etc., but what I was really struck by was everyone’s heart. There are so many
Flower Mound police officers who put
on that academy. They are good-hearted people. I feel very honored to serve.” Woollums, who joined FMCPAAA a
year before Boehmer and is now the organization’s treasurer, agreed. Her
fiancé, Brian Smiley, is the President and
Fast forward to today, and Boehmer and close friend Joni Woollums are two of 87 energetic volunteers of this growing organization. And they couldn’t be happier with their new calling.
urged her to get involved in the classes.
“Those Thursday nights … I’ll never forget them,” Boehmer said. “It was exhilarating
Woollums said. “It was a fair
“Brian went through the program,
and he encouraged me to at least go through it so that I could understand why it was so important to him,” ask, and I loved it.”
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