By Police1 Staff
ATLANTA — A man determined to become a police officer and provide for his family shed more than 100 pounds to achieve his goal.
On August 9, 2017, 28-year-old James Cornelius was hired by the Atlanta Police Department but faced some immediate challenges, WGCL-TV reported. Cornelius, who said he weighed 337 pounds at the time, failed his first physical training test to get into the police academy.
With his son on his mind, Cornelius started working out and eating healthy. He made it into the academy in December but continued to work out, sometimes running up to four miles a day.
https://twitter.com/Atlanta_Police/status/1021440180929073152
“My very first PT test I ran like 22 minutes on my mile and a half and my final one I ran 12 flat so I shaved almost 10 minutes in a year,” Cornelius said.
Cornelius’ hard work paid off when he was sworn in as an Atlanta PD officer in June. He said he is now at 235 pounds.
The recruit said he’s in his final stages of field training and is expected to graduate from the academy in September.