Old School Cop: Out of Shape, Lazy Cops are Biggest Hazard to Public

[Feeling the Bern]

HIALEAH — Leo Thalassites has been a police officer for more than 50 years.

He fought in WW2 and the Korean War.

When he came back, he competed in Greco-Roman wrestling.

He began building strength early on, deadlifting 540 pounds while weighing only 170 pounds.

I couldn't agree more.

[Ino]

1. From the OP's link...

A recent study by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found that cops are now officially the fattest employees in the entire nation.

But only the 14th most dangerous job

[Katashi_itto]

2. K&R

[Lee-Lee]

3. I argued that for years when I was a deputy

Two of the biggest problems were cops out of shape and cops who are burned out but just hanging on to hug that magic number for full pension payout.

Even departments that do have fitness tests and standards are now being sued over them, because people fail the test and then say it's discriminatory. That caused more departments to drop the idea.

There needs to be reform of the law on state and federal level to say that physical fitness standards are allowed and encouraged and are not discriminatory.

As for burned out cops on the job- as much as everyone here hates the idea pensions in jobs like police and teaching need to go away. Jobs that lock people into pensions they most complete XX years in just encourage people to stay in the job past the burnout stage instead of seeking a job they would like more.

[tk2kewl]

4. I'd say mental and emotional fitness and maturitly are most important...

...then physical fitness