By Greg Kendall-Ball
Abilene Reporter-News
ABILENE, Texas — Decades ago when police officers walked a beat, getting enough physical activity was not an issue. These days, Abilene Police Chief Stan Standridge said, an officer’s shift is spent behind the wheel of a patrol car, “filled with paperwork, burglary and accident investigations, traèc stops and other nonphysical requirements.”
A lack of physical fitness among police officers is a widespread phenomenon, both in Abilene and across the nation, according to Phil Sage, a training officer with the Abilene Police Department.
Sage cited a study from the Cooper Institute, a nonprofit research and education organization dedicated to preventive medicine, that says police officers as a group may be above average (compared with the general population) in regard to muscular strength, but are below average when it comes to cardio-respiratory fitness and body fat percentage.
Additionally, one-fifth of officers never make it to full retirement age. Many (14 percent) retire early because of cardiovascular disease, orthopedic problems (such as back injuries) and stress disorders. About 6 percent die while employed as police officers, the report says.
“Heart disease is the biggest killer of cops,” Sage said.
Eating habits
Coupled with the lack of physical activity is the fact that many officers find maintaining a healthy diet while on duty a challenge.
“A lot of the shift work means fast food is the only option for a lot of officers,” Sage said. “The irregular hours, the need to respond immediatelytoacall,meana lot of officers will go through a drive-thru, which doesn’t always mean a healthy meal.”
And like a lot of departments its size, the APD has no departmentwide mandatory physical fitness requirements. Currently, only SWAT personnel must pass certain physical tests.
The problem is clear. The solution is not.
Sage said new officers graduate from the police academy in the best shape of their lives.
“They’re working out nearly every day for six months. We’re talking to them about eating right and the importance of staying in shape. And when they leave here, they’re in great shape,” he said.
After graduation, he said, officers tend to follow one of two paths: There are those whoworktomaintainahigh level of fitness, and those who don’t.
Sage is a member of the APD’s physical fitness committee, which has been tasked with developing a plan for the department. Members hope to have something in place by the end of the year.
“We have a lot of officers in the department who would work out and stay in shape no matter what job they were doing. For those types, they don’t really need much motivation,” Sage said. “For the others, you have to find the right incentives.”
Standridge said a policy is important, but what ultimately is needed is a change in culture.
“Our departmental goal with fitness is to change our culture from ‘have to’ to ‘want to,’ ” he said. “We want our employees to so enjoy working out that it becomes part of them. We are trying to create a departmental culture that encourages physical fitness.”
SomeTexasdepartments, including the Fort Worth Police Department, have a policy that requires yearly mandatory physical fitness assessments. Some departments merely offer incentives - such as extra days off or bonus checks - to officers who attain certain fitness goals.
Detective Bob Bruno of the Fort Worth Police Department said the agency’s policy on annual assessments, in place since January, applies only to new hires.
To be hired, a candidate must complete a timed run through an obstacle course while carrying a load of between 15 and 20 pounds, Bruno said. And, each year, they must requalify.
If officers hired before January opt to take the test and pass, they receive a $300 bonus, he said.
Although it is unclear yet what the APD policy will entail, Sage said whatever it is will benefit the department and the community.
“Being physically fit absolutely translates to better job performance, and that will help keep officers and the citizens safe,” he said.
Standridge said there are economic benefits to be had, too.
“Lives literally depend on our officers being physically fit. Additional benefits are fewer sick days, fewer injuries to both officers and suspects, and fewer health care claims. Healthier employees are cheaper in the long run,” he said.
But while there may be tangible benefits to a more physically fit police department, cheaper insurance rates are not among them.
Ronnie Kidd, the city of Abilene’s managing director for administration, said it’s unlikely a fitness policy would mean cheaper health insurance.
“Unless we could directly associate things like fewer sick days to this new policy, I can’t see there being any change in the city’s insurance costs,” he said.
Despite the absence of a departmentwide policy, many APD officers appear to understand the value of being fit.
Standridge already has a half-marathon under his belt, and is aiming to complete his first full 26.2-mile run in December.
As chief executive of a department of 184 sworn officers, a husband, the father of two teenage daughters and the caretaker for two dogs (and one “useless cat”), he said free time for running is not something he has in ample supply.
“If I waited to have time to work out, I would never work out,” he said. “Instead, I make time. I schedule times to consistently run, which is my sport of choice. I try to run three times a week, and I do so by getting up by 5:45 a.m. and hitting the streets as soon as there is enough sunlight to see.”
Stress relief
Sgt. Clay Grothe, an 18year APD veteran, said he works out for safety - and for sanity.
“Every day there is the potential for a physical confrontation. I am 42 years old, and we deal with suspects from 16 to older than I am. That’s one reason I go to the gym - for self-preservation and survival,” he said.
“I also work out for stress relief. I feel better after a workout - there really is that endorphin rush.”
Brittney Martinez, a patrol officer, has been with the department for two years. As a female officer, she said needs to be extra-prepared to deal with the demands of her job.
“Physical fitness is very important for a police officer. We have to deal with a lot of people out on the streets who are very fit and strong. A lot of criminals coming out of prison, that’s all they do,” she said of convicts working out.
To stay in shape, Martinez said she enjoys practicing Kuk Sool Won, a traditional Korean martial art, at a local gym.
“In here, we do everything: strength training, cardio conditioning and self-defense training. I think of my martial arts training as another tool on my belt,” she said.
“If I can’t get to my weapon - to a Taser or my pepper spray or my gun - I feel better knowing I can defend myself with my hands.”
Tim Pipes, both a patrolman and a SWAT operator, said being physically fit is vital, as he could be called on at any moment to save someone’s life - or his own. “If you’re not physically fit, you may not be able to fulfill that duty,” he said. “We’re called to protect, as well as serve, and fitness is the foundation of our ability to do that job.”
“At times, we have to protect ourselves, or citizens, and if things go bad, it’s usually when we put hands on people,” Pipes said. “That’s not the time to ask if you’ve done what you needed to do to be fit enough to handle that.”
Copyright 2011 The E.W. Scripps Company