After a police officer graduates from the recruit academy, that officer may never have his or her physical fitness tested again.
That didn’t sit well with Phillips Police Chief Michael Hauschild.
Instead, he set up an incentive program for officers to stay fit throughout their careers.
Starting this year, Phillips police officers can earn a monetary bonus just for staying fit.
“Basically, it’s the same standards of testing that are in the recruit academy that new recruits go through,” Hauschild said. They’re required to [meet] an entrance standard, then they do the exit standards. The test [consists] of a vertical jump, agility run, sit-ups, 300 meter run, push-ups, and 1.5 mile run.”
If an officer meets the entrance standards, he gets a $250 bonus. Meeting the exit standards earns the officer a $500 bonus.
Hauschild said in-shape officers are able to perform their job better. They also project credibility to the people they serve.
Two Phillips officers are already taking their training for the fitness tests seriously.
“One of my officers lost 20 pounds and the other one lost 35 pounds. They’re actually physically running, they’re doing push-ups, so they’re really getting prepared for this entrance standard,” Hauschild said.
The officers can take the fitness test in May.
The Phillips Police Department borrowed the idea for the program from the Park Falls Police Department.
