The Abilene Police Officers Association has called for physical fitness standards to be made optional. What are other agencies doing?
The Abilene Police Officers Association is lobbying to eliminate mandatory physical fitness standards for city officers and replace them with a voluntary incentive program.
Overall, many law enforcement agencies in Texas still require mandatory physical fitness testing, and at the federal level, the Air Force requires the same for its military personnel. Other agencies have voluntary physical fitness programs for police officers, or none at all.
Notably, the association’s latest initiative comes roughly five years after the Abilene Police Department unveiled an expansive fitness facility inside its new police headquarters.
The Abilene Police Association is considering a change to a voluntary physical fitness program while it works to secure a new police contract with the city.
Police Association President Chris Adams has submitted a letter of intent to city officials asking them to change the physical fitness standards to voluntary so that participation is not forced.
Adams said during a meeting with city officials on May 30 that the change to optional physical fitness would ensure that “no one is penalized” for failing the fitness test.
He suggested that instead of officers taking mandatory physical fitness tests, they undergo medical exams every two years, paid for by the city.
In response, Mayor Robert Hanna said, “My big concern is how do we maintain the fitness of our officers if it’s voluntary?”
Criteria for APD
According to APD Public Information Coordinator Rick Tomlin, “When it comes to physical fitness standards, the department currently offers incentives, such as time off, to officers who pass the tests.” If approvedThe police department will continue to encourage physical fitness and will implement a physical fitness program, including annual testing. The program will focus on the overall health and wellness of officers and encourage participation from officers.”
How many officers are struggling to meet the standards?
“It will be true that in 2023, some officers will fail the physical exam requirements,” Tomlin said. “Those who fail will be placed on probation for 90 days during which they will be encouraged to progress in their training and then retake the exam.”
All those who failed passed the exam again.
According to a 2019 contract between the city of Abilene and the police association, “the police department will conduct mandatory medical screenings for all sworn employees.”
The fitness assessment will be done on a rowing machine and will consist of rowing 2,000 metres.
If a sworn officer receives a failing score, the officer will participate in a fitness improvement plan developed by the fitness committee and will be reevaluated in three months.
A second failure will require continuation of the fitness improvement plan and reevaluation in three months. A third failure may result in a change in job assignment and continued participation in the fitness plan.
According to the contract, the modified duties will not be considered a disciplinary action and sworn employees will not be suspended or subject to fitness-for-duty evaluations as a result.
Sworn police officers are exempt from testing if they experience an illness, injury, disability, or other qualifying life event, in which case they will be tested three months after the event occurred.
Other institutions, other rules
Sergeant Charlie Aiper of the Wichita Falls Police Department said the department tests employees twice a year. “Everybody is required to get tested,” Aiper said.
All Wichita Falls police officers are tested on a rowing machine similar to APD’s standards.
Wichita Falls is a city of approximately 102,000 people located about 150 miles northeast of Abilene. Both are medium-sized cities, but Abilene has a larger population of approximately 127,000.
Aiper noted that no one would be fired for failing a physical fitness test, but stressed that the tests were “critical to our work.”
Speaking about the importance of staying healthy as a police officer, Aiper said, “The stress level and the nature of the job take a toll both physically and mentally.”
“Strength and perseverance will play a big role in balancing that with the work,” he said.
Aiper said being healthy helps protect officers during altercations and protects them and their weapons. When officers are healthy, they’re prepared to do their job and defend.
The much larger Fort Worth Police Department also has the usual physical fitness standards for new officers, but it also tests its rookies. The department administers some of the most rigorous tests to its rookies.
Officers seeking transfer to Fort Worth must complete sprints and obstacle jumps, in addition to pursuit runs and stair climbing, demonstrate the physical ability to restrain a 180-pound person using a power training machine and complete a trigger action assessment.
The final event is a victim rescue competition in which officers carry an 88-pound weight around a designated course.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has “minimum physical fitness requirements for all applicants and officer trainees” to pass a physical fitness test.
The assessment includes rowing, running, and a standard waist measurement of 38 inches for women and 43 inches for men.
“New recruits who do not meet the requirements will have their conditional offers revoked and will be sent home,” DPS said.
After the academy, “all ministry commission employees must pass two physical fitness assessments each fiscal year.”
Other obligations to improve physical fitness for emergency personnel
The Abilene Fire Department requires annual physical fitness testing, said AFD Fire Chief Jeremy Williams, and if a recruit fails the test, they won’t be hired by AFD.
The grueling tests include dragging a five-inch hose, using an axe to cut a hole in a building’s roof, climbing a ladder and operating a chainsaw.
AFD members must pass this test annually without any compensation incentive.
If they fail, members will be subject to a remediation plan that will involve “mandatory physical training,” Williams said.
However, AFD offers a separate voluntary program for additional fitness, and officers who meet the requirements are given time off.
Military Test
More than a quarter of the APD division is made up of former military personnel who are familiar with physical fitness standards.
According to an Air Force article on evolving fitness standards, the military’s Air Force and Army standards date back to World War II, when the Army Air Corps established the first fitness program.
Testing methods have evolved since then, and the Air Force now conducts physical fitness assessments that include exercises such as push-ups, sit-ups and a 1.5-mile run, according to a detailed 70-page document on physical fitness standards.
High scorers only have to take the test once a year, but low scorers must take the test twice a year and failing scorers must take the test every three months.
“Maintaining spontaneous physical fitness”
But some Texas agencies are moving to a voluntary system and have no such requirements at all.
Aiper said the move to voluntary evaluations could reflect recruitment and retention within smaller police departments.
The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office is one of the agencies that does not have physical fitness requirements for new hires.
“We are looking at a fitness program for our current employees,” Sheriff Ricky Bishop said.
Big cities like Houston have already implemented voluntary fitness programs in 2019.
“The police department shall maintain a voluntary physical fitness and agility program as an incentive to improve the physical condition of its officers, consistent with the most recent interview agreement,” according to a general order issued Feb. 20, 2019.
Houston went so far as to say that participants in the voluntary program must take a police physical fitness test during their off-duty hours.
Huge fitness room
The City Council initially approved $9 million in funding to renovate the old Kmart building so APD could relocate from its former law enforcement center in downtown Abilene, a project that would cost an estimated $24 million to complete.
When the new facility opened in 2019, it featured a huge fitness room stocked with all kinds of weight training and exercise machines, according to a previous Abilene Reporter-News article.
“The Abilene Police Department has a very robust fitness program,” then-Deputy Police Chief Doug Wren said, “In fact, we lead the state in some areas, so providing this opportunity for our uniformed officers is the least we can do.”
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