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TAMPA UNCUFFED: INSIDE DOPE ON COPS & COURTS; [LATE TAMPA Edition]

SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER. St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla.: Jun 23, 2005. pg. 3.B

Full Text (466   words)

Copyright Times Publishing Co. Jun 23, 2005

MARRIED TO THE LAW:It's not easy being married to a cop. The job is dangerous, stressful. The hours can be long and unpredictable.

A local forum for the spouses of law enforcement officers provides a telling glimpse into the minds and lives of cops' wives. On the Spouses Support Forum of www.leoaffairs.com , wives talk about the constant worry of having husbands who must deal with criminals. They console each other about cancer scares and infidelity. They give each other advice on raising teenagers.

And sometimes, a spouse conveys in a few poignant sentences what it's like to be an officer's other half.

Consider this passage posted recently by a woman who revealed only her first name, Victoria: "Before he was a cop, he had a different outlook on life. I'm not a cop, I'm his wife. I'll never know what he goes through. Just being a cop's wife, I am borderline paranoid and don't trust people. It's kind of sad. It's like you expect the worst out of people because you know the madness out there. Am I alone here or is this common?"

Staff writer Kevin Graham contributed to this report. Contact Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler at (813) 226-3373 or svansickler@sptimes.com.