Photos by Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Howard Martin (middle), waits as Roanoke city police recruits discuss his possible arrest during a domestic disturbance training session Monday. Martin is a member of the Roanoke Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association, which helps the police department in many ways, including acting out parts during training. The association is made up of people who received training at the citizens academy and want to help the police department in a civilian capacity.

Suzette Epperley waits as a Roanoke city police recruit questions her during a suspicious person training session. Epperley, who was posing as a suspect for the training session, is a member of the Roanoke Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association.

Jesse Brown (center) waits while a trainer and a Roanoke city police recruit discuss what to do during a suspicious person training session Monday. Brown was acting a part during a recruit training session. He is a member of the Roanoke Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association.

She'd gone shopping and spent too much of her husband's money, again, and he was angry.

"A pair of shoes, $150 down the drain," he said. "What do I get? A case of beer a week?"

"A week?" the wife fired back. "How about every day, you dog?"

About then, two officers knocked on the door.

They separated the couple, who continued to hurl insults at each other from across the room. After several minutes, the officers arrested the man for pushing and injuring his wife.

It's a scenario that police come across just about every day.

That's why Howard Martin and Karen Layton, who played the part of the husband and wife, were helping two Roanoke city police recruits train on Monday night.

Martin and Layton are members of the Roanoke Citizen Police Academy Alumni Association. It's a group of about 40 people who support the Roanoke police department in a number of ways, from helping at DUI checkpoints to putting on an annual officer appreciation dinner.

The members have no law enforcement background, just a respect and admiration for what officers do.

"Not many people like officers," said Layton, one of the original members of the association, which organized in 2005. "They just don't. It's a stereotype."

But the Roanoke Citizen Police Academy, a 12-week class from which all of the members have graduated, gave them a better look at how the department operates and what officers do.

"They are the finest people that I know," Layton said. "They truly are."

The alumni group is made up of people from across the valley who hold jobs at banks, a bakery, the city treasurer's office, retail stores, and other businesses.

The Roanoke County and Salem police departments, as well as the Bedford County Sheriff's Office, also have alumni associations.

Six members from the Roanoke alumni association were at Monday night's training at the Laurel Mountain Police Training Center near Dixie Caverns.

"They are a huge help for us," said Sgt. Chris Bolling, assistant director of the Roanoke Police Academy.

Bolling said that before the alumni group helped with training, they used other police officers to role-play.

But "cops sometimes act like cops," he said. "It's more valuable to have the alumni."

Roanoke police Chief Joe Gaskins also praised the members for their service.

"They are really dedicated," he said. "At this point, I don't know what life would be like without them."

The association's support for the department goes well beyond recruit training.

Last weekend, the association hosted the third annual officer appreciation dinner, where Officer Bryan Lawrence and Detective Linville Manning were named the officers of the year. The rookie of the year award went to Officer Hugh Elsea.

Now, the association is helping the recruits with Blue Santa, a project that provides toys for children who are hospitalized during the holidays.

And the list goes on.

They hand out literature about the dangers of drunken driving at DUI checkpoints.

They have been trained to do security assessments at homes and do property checks for residents who are out of town.

Once a month, some of the members visit the homes of autistic children to change the batteries on bracelets used to track the children if they become lost.

They clean, polish and plant flowers around the Fallen Officer Memorial outside police headquarters.

The members sit on a review board in the department's professional standards unit to weigh in on whether a complaint against an officer is valid. If so, they recommend disciplinary action, which goes to Gaskins, who ultimately makes the decision.

And they help the department with various programs and events including Citizens Appreciation Day, Crime Prevention Day, the Charity Golf Tournament, and the Memory Ride.

The association members do all this, they say, to give back to the police department.

"The whole point of the effort is to serve and give back to these fine men and women," alumnus Jesse Brown said.

"We would do anything for them."