Wilmington Police hosting self defense course by women for women
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Female officers at the Wilmington Police Department are working to make sure other women in the community have the tools they need to keep themselves safe.
Starting next month, WPD will host its first four-week women’s self-defense course.
“Whether you find yourself in a domestic violence situation, or you’re a potential target for human trafficking, or if you’re a mom trying to defend your kids, or if you’re just like a random single person that’s walking around outside. We want to equip all of these people, all of these women with tools to help protect themselves and increase their survivability,” Corporal Cardi Barksdale said.
It’s a class hosted by women, for women. Corporal Barksdale says the program is something Chief Donny Williams has envisioned for a long time to increase safety through self-defense and self-awareness.
“Having a few more tools on my tool belt makes me feel a lot more confident if I were to be in a fight with somebody, so we want to give that to the female students in our class too,” Barksdale said. “Lord forbid an attack happens, but if it does happen we want them to be a little more confident in defending themselves and getting away.”
The course will take place at the Haynes Lacewell Police and Fire Training Facility every Wednesday for four weeks from August 9 through August 30.
The first course is open to Wilmington residents only, but the department hopes to expand the course in the future and open it to more women in the Cape Fear area.
For more information on the course and how to apply, click here.
