Women gain self-defense skills

SANDPOINT — Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon recently took some punches after volunteering to wear the RedMan suit for the first women’s self-defense class sponsored by SPD.

“They got to beat me up and to defend attacks from me — It was a great class,” Coon reported to City Council members shortly after the class was held in June.

Officer Heather Trumble moved to Sandpoint about a year-and-a-half ago from Pahrump, Nev., where she and three other officers taught a similar program.

“That was actually implemented after an incident that happened at the VFW Hall (in Nevada), where a female was attacked, raped and beaten,” Trumble told the Daily Bee.

When she transferred to Sandpoint, she began asking around as to whether there was a women’s self-defense course in the area. After learning there was not, she spoke to Coon, as well as the city prosecutor regarding liability, and they agreed it would be a “great” thing for the community, she said.

She began talking with Beverly Harrison, the manager of Curves, and the class began to take shape. Harrison helped get a small group of women together for the first class, which was held over two days.

As the class was a success, Trumble said she has another set up for September and about 20 women have already signed up, rendering it full. She hopes to do three or four a year, she said, so the next one will likely be held in February.

The class is geared toward situations of domestic violence, Trumble said, and she will have another woman, Angela Tennison from the police department, helping her out with the class. In her experience, Trumble said the class tends to “bring out some demons,” and she can relate to their situation.

“I am a survivor of domestic violence as well, and you have some women who have that come back,” Trumble said. “They relive it. So having another female there, so I can continue teaching and we can kind of take them off and just personalize and sit with them, and let them talk about what happened.”

There are no men allowed in the class, Trumble said, except for the ones getting beat up, who are hand-picked — except the chief, as he volunteered to take the punches.

The two-day class covers a variety of topics, including firearms, sex assault, domestic violence and situational awareness.

During the June 27 City Council meeting, Harrison said she and the other women learned a “great deal” out of the class.

“The first obvious things are self awareness, empowerment, being aware of your surroundings,” Harrison said. “I think one of the things that was more important to me, it allowed us to really see the police officers and what they do for our community ... It made us more appreciative I think, of the job that they do, of our community, things that we would more or less take for granted that we don’t take for granted any more.

“So I would hope that this is the first of many classes to come. I think the fruit of it will just be amazing.”

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.