Physically fit for duty: What is the San Angelo police force stance on mandatory fitness?

Some law enforcement agencies in Texas are shedding mandatory physical fitness standards. Is the San Angelo Police Department among them?

SAPD Chief Travis Griffith said there is no push to change the physical requirements at the moment.

"We want to see people that can come in and and be trainable and teachable," he said. "Our standards are not super high. We keep it to where we just know that if they can meet a certain degree. Then from there we're going to grow that up in the academy."

Across the board, numerous law enforcement agencies in Texas still require mandatory physical fitness assessments, and on the federal level, so does the Air Force for servicemembers. Other agencies have voluntary physical fitness programs for their peace officers or none at all.

Applicants for the SAPD who pass the written exam should be prepared to complete the physical agility exam the same day.

The test is a Concept2 rower evaluation consisting of a 2,000 meter row for time. The test consists of rowing a distance of 2,000 meters at a resistance setting of five, according to the department's website .

Griffith said there used to be a different test with a run, push-ups and sit-ups.

Expert in first-responder fitness weighs in

Dr. Jacob A. Mota, director of the neuromuscular and occupational performance laboratory at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, has made these issues a focus of his work.

In an interview, Mota said that while a rowing machine test "doesn't tell you if you're going to be a good cop," he is in favor of keeping physical fitness requirements.

Mota has studied police officers and firefighters in Lubbock for over 10 years, researching the relationship between physical fitness and performance in their jobs. He is concerned that if there are no mandatory physical fitness requirements, then the "injury rate can go up."

Additionally, he referenced a study he directed which looked at fatigue levels in police officers and their ability to make higher-level processing decisions. In his study, officers were pushed to complete cardiovascular exercises until the officers became fatigued.

Then they were asked to complete complicated mathematical problems. As the officers became more fatigued, their high-level processing abilities slumped.

Mota said that test was comparable to fatigued officers who try to make life or death decisions. It "makes us nervous" to think that the ability to process goes down with higher levels of fatigue, he said.

Mota said he had even seen police departments remove standards only to have the injury rate rise, causing the departments to bring the standards back.

Military testing

Typically, former military members make up a portion of local police departments. They know physical fitness standards all too well from their active duty days at military installations such as Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo.

The military's Air Force and Army standards harken back to World War II when the Army Air Forces established its first physical fitness program, according to an Air Force article on evolving fitness standards.

Testing methods have evolved since then, and the Air Force now has a physical fitness assessment that includes activities such as pushups, sit ups and a 1.5-mile run, according to a detailed 70-page document on fitness standards.

High scorers are only required to test once yearly. Low scorers, however, must test twice per year with unsatisfactory scorers subject to testing every three months.

Other agencies, other rules

Sgt. Charlie Eipper of the Wichita Falls Police Department said his department tests twice per year. Eipper said it is "mandatory for everyone to take the test."

All Wichita Falls officers test on rowing machines, similar to San Angelo police.

Wichita Falls is a city of about 102,000 approximately 236 miles northeast of San Angelo. Both are midsize cities, but San Angelo's population is approximately 99,000.

While Eipper noted no one can be fired for failing to pass a physical fitness test, he stressed that those tests are "so important for our job."

"The level of stress and the nature of the job takes a toll physically and mentally," Eipper said of the importance of staying physically fit as a police officer.

"Strength and endurance is going to play a huge part" in the job and in maintaining that balance, he said.

Being fit protects the officers in altercations, and it protects themselves and their weapons, Eipper said. Being fit makes them ready to serve and protect.

The much bigger Fort Worth Police Department also has regular physical fitness standards for recruits but tests lateral officers, as well. That department has one of the more strenuous tests, especially in the case of lateral officers.

Lateral officers who wish to transfer to Fort Worth must complete a sprint and barrier surmount in addition to a pursuit run and stair climb. They must demonstrate the physical force to restrain a 180-pound person using a power training machine and complete a trigger pull assessment.

The last event is a victim rescue where officers are required to carry an 88-pound weight around a designated course.

The Texas Department of Public Safety sets a "minimum physical fitness requirement for all applicants and trooper trainees" to pass a physical readiness test.

This assessment includes rowing, running and having a standard waist measurement of 38 inches for women and 43 inches for men.

"Recruits not passing the requirements will have their conditional job offer rescinded and will be sent home," according to DPS.

Moving past the academy, "all Department commission personnel are required to pass two physical fitness assessments per fiscal year."

Physical fitness mandates for other first responders

About 90 miles northeast of San Angelo, the Abilene Fire Department requires a once yearly physical agility test, AFD Fire Marshall Jeremy Williams said. New recruits will not be considered for AFD if they fail the test.

The strenuous test includes such events as a dragging a five-inch hose, using an axe to cut a hole in a building's roof, climbing a ladder and operating a chainsaw, among others.

AFD members are required to pass this test yearly with no reward incentives.

If they fail, members are then subject to an improvement plan with "mandated physical fitness," Williams said.

AFD does, however, offer a separate voluntary program for extra fitness. If officers qualify, they are rewarded with time off work.

'Maintain voluntary physical fitness'

Some Texas agencies, however, have moved to a voluntary system, and others simply don't have such requirements.

Eipper in Wichita Falls said the move to voluntary assessments could be reflective of recruitment and retention within smaller police departments.

The Taylor County Sheriff's Office is one of the agencies that does not have any physical fitness requirements for hiring new recruits.

"We are exploring a fitness program with current employees," Sheriff Ricky Bishop said.

Larger cities such as Houston have moved to a voluntary physical fitness program as recently as 2019.

"The department, in compliance with the most current Meet and Confer Agreement, shall maintain a voluntary Physical Fitness and Agility Program to serve as an incentive for officers to improve their physical condition," according to a general order issued Feb. 20, 2019 .

Houston went so far as to state that participants in the voluntary program must take the department's physical agility test while off duty.

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This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Physically fit for duty: What is the San Angelo police force stance on mandatory fitness?