Police Officer Preparation & Law Enforcement Resource - Archive

Are law enforcement officers required to maintain a certain level of physical fitness? Are they required to undergo periodic physical fitness testing similar to the various branches of the military?

In general YES, most departments require you to pass a PT prior to being hired and then annualy thereafter.

I love that your title is a SWAT/Patrol "stupervisor" - I wish I could put that on my name tag at work, haha!!

Thanks for answering the question, by the way. All of the officers around here that I've encountered are VERY fit, so I wondered if it was a requirement for the job (makes sense) or if everyone was electing to stay fit voluntarily. Thanks again. :)

While everyone seems to require you passing a fit test to be hired, I would say that MOST places do not require fit tests AFTER you are hired. Those that do, often only require participation. Of course, some states are better than others.

My agency requires you take a fit test every 6 months. You need not pass, though. With that said, we seem to do ok with people staying in shape (I think we're better than average).

While everyone seems to require you passing a fit test to be hired, I would say that MOST places do not require fit tests AFTER you are hired.

Ours doesn't and they should. IMO, you're stupid if you don't stay in shape. I worked out my whole career for selfish reasons. I didn't want my heart to explode chasing a 16 year old through back yards.

I agree with Switch, most don't. The ones that do don't usually penalize you for failing, but they usually reward you for passing (days off, bonuses, etc.). That has been my understanding anyway.

That's exactly how it is with us Blackgoat. You need to have a fit test on file to try and get fit-assiociated workman's comp. I think you need to pass the fit test to promote. If you get 2 "goods" and an "excellent" on the test you get 4hrs leave. Two excellents and a "Superior" earn you 8 hrs, if I recall.

That's exactly how it is with us Blackgoat. You need to have a fit test on file to try and get fit-assiociated workman's comp. I think you need to pass the fit test to promote. If you get 2 "goods" and an "excellent" on the test you get 4hrs leave. Two excellents and a "Superior" earn you 8 hrs, if I recall.

You're probably the one I heard it from...

It took me a while to get back to this post, but after reading all of the responses, I'm curious as to what happens if you fail the physical fitness test? I see that a lot of departments apparently reward you for passing, but if you fail, do you just miss out on the rewards, or would they put you on a plan to get you back in shape?

I'm not a police officer, but there was a controversy in my area last year, where The Suquamish Tribal Police on the northern end of Kitsap County here in Washington began mandating the passing of physical fitness tests, then last year they made it a condition of employment and began firing officers who didn't pass the test.

Suquamish police officers fired after department revamps fitness policy » Kitsap Sun (http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/may/05/suquamish-police-officers-fired-after-department/)

So that could happen depending upon the department.

A long time a ago (so the info might not be accurate anymore or I might be remembering incorrectly) I was talking with a Michigan State Trooper. He said they had annual PT. If you just passed it you were good to go. If you passed it higher then you got paid time off. If you failed it you were placed in "remedial" PT and tested a gain after a few weeks. If you failed it again then you were given a TDY to the Academy, where they beat you into shape until you passed it.

Interesting case in Killeen Texas, where I used to live, concerning a Mandatory PT test.

You can google it under "killeen-police-fitness-test-deemed-illegal" it is under KXXV news.

To summarize: The Killeen Texas police department tried to impose a mandatory PT test with a failure costing the officer their job. A few officers got together a suit stating that it violated the civil service law inplace stating that an officer fitness for duty needed to pass through a certain process, and this PT test allowed the department to circumvent the process and directly fire the officer. The court did rule that the PT process was illegal in that it did not follow the law in place.