Police officer, EMT for a day: Palm Beach residents take part in annual Citizen's Academy

Palm Beach residents recently got a taste of how the town's police and fire departments work during the annual four-week Citizen's Academy.

The public safety education program for adults also features some hands-on experience under the direction of police officers, detectives, firefighters and emergency medical techs. Instruction on March 6 included firearms training at the range at the town's police station as well as response to resistance.

At Phipps Ocean Park, program participants got a close-up look at a TraumaHawk helicopter, which flies trauma patients to one of the county's two trauma centers at St. Mary's and Delray medical centers.

The Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation sponsors the Citizen's Academy. This year the four-week public safety education program for adults met Wednesdays from Feb. 21 to March 13.