An officer’s physical fitness is a concern not just because the officers are overweight and might develop a debilitating health condition in their later years. It’s an officer survival issue. It could put an officer at a serious disadvantage when he or she faces a more physically fit bad guy who has the mindset to win. http://armatraining.com/?articles=fit-for-duty-police-magazine-by-dave-young-2008

1. 42 POLICE AUGUST 2008
B
eing in the law enforcement and
corrections training field for more
than 20 years and coming from
both a civilian and Marine Corps
background in law enforcement and cor-
rections, I have noticed a distinct change
in the students attending training pro-
grams. Many of them are out of shape
both mentally and physically.
I don’t mean they are stupid or men-
tally unstable. I mean they lack mental
discipline and a winning mindset. And
when I talk about physical fitness, I’m not
referring to the officer who has 20 years
on the force and has bad knees and a bad
back and has gained too much weight. I’m
talking about officers who are young with
just a few years of duty or even just out of
the academy who cannot maintain the
physical intensity needed for advanced
law enforcement training.
Redefining
Fitfor DutyDave Young
All officers, especially those working
on and around water, must at least
be able to swim without flotation
devices to be fit for duty.

2. PoliceMag.com 43
An officer’s physical fitness is a concern
not just because the officers are over-
weight and might develop a debilitating
health condition in their later years. It’s
an officer survival issue. It could put an
officer at a serious disadvantage when he
or she faces a more physically fit bad guy
who has the mindset to win.
The Winning Mindset
Even when officers are in shape, they
have a tendency to dismiss the value of
training. The mindset of these officers
has taken a sharp curve from: “Hey, this is
important and I need to know it because
it can prevent me from being injured or
even killed” to “Hey, this is never going
to happen to me, and I don’t have to be in
shape because I have all of these force op-
tions and tools on my belt.”
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We need to ask some
tough questions about
the mental and physical
fitness of America’s
law enforcement
professionals.
Continued on page 46

3. 46 POLICE AUGUST 2008
don’t require officers to maintain fitness
once they are on the job. Sure they have to
pass the academy, but afterward they can
relax, and relax some do.
To make matters worse, today because
agencies are desperately trying to fill their
ranks, some have lowered their fitness
standards. Sure, they still give tests, but
are they really tests in the sense that they
screen people? Or are these agencies sim-
ply going through the motions for liability
concerns?
Safety is always the main concern for
any trainer when conducting training, as
it should be. However, in an effort to make
training safe, the officer survival focus of
the past is now largely ignored. I advocate
courses I teach that challenge the offi-
cers both physically and mentally, I have
a special note alerting the students that
the training is physically demanding. But
many seem to have very little idea of what
“hands-on” training means.
Today’s law enforcement trainees tend
tohaveaverydifferentmindsetthanthose
I taught back in the ’90s. Back then more
of my students came to the training with
military experience or an athletic back-
ground. They were prepared for physically
grueling training and, more importantly,
the physical challenges of the job. Many
of today’s trainees lack even basic physi-
cal fitness.
Part of the problem is that agencies
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Are These Cops
Fit for Duty?
If an officer cannot be sprayed and contaminated with the chemical aerosol
he or she is assigned to carry, is that officer fit for duty?
If an officer can’t swim or tread water on the surface for designated periods
of time without the use of a flotation device, is that officer fit for duty? Does your
answer change if the officer works on or near water?
If a bike patrol officer is unable to ride a bike effectively on an obstacle course,
is that officer fit for duty?
If a SWAT officer is unable to operate in a protective mask while handling his or
her primary and secondary weapon in a safe and effective manner, is that officer
fit for duty?
If an officer cannot complete a 30-second bag drill during a defensive tactics
exercise in an effective manner, is that officer fit for duty?
If an officer cannot safely and effectively handle a baton, is that officer fit for
duty? Would you want to work with that officer?
Redefining
Fit for Duty

4. 48 POLICE AUGUST 2008
ficer is fit for duty when he or she can
perform the job in a safe and professional
manner that does not jeopardize their
lives or the lives of others.
Here’s my definition of “fit for duty”: If
an officer can safely perform his or her du-
ties in an effective manner without jeop-
ardizing his or her life or the lives of oth-
ers, including other officers, bystanders,
even subjects and suspects, the officer is
fit for duty.
And I submit to you that some agencies
arefieldingofficerswhoarenotfitforduty.
Is your agency one of them? Ask yourself
the following questions:
H What does your agency do if an officer
can’t pass a test, either a written test or a
physical application test?
H What does your agency do if an officer
can’t get sprayed with a chemical aerosol
in training?
H What does your agency do if an officer
can’t jump over a fence, run down a sub-
ject, and physically control them?
H What does your agency do if an officer
cannot handle and deploy a firearm with-
out the use of prescription eye glasses?
H What does your agency do when an offi-
cer is unable to successfully complete his
protective mask drills in a safe and effec-
tive manner?
H What does your agency do when an of-
ficer is unable to sustain himself above
the surface of the water without the use
of a flotation device and said officer is as-
raising the bar on basic fitness for duty
guidelines for agencies. If these standards
are met, “safety” issues will be readily met
as well. And that will save lives.
Do You Know How to Win?
Training used to be about developing
the skills of a warrior: intelligence, physi-
cal strength, physical endurance, cour-
age. I tell my students, “If you want to be a
warrior you have to walk through hell.” In
other words, train hard and train realisti-
cally because nothing is more real than a
bad guy trying to take your life.
How has the shift away from the “war-
rior model” changed training? Well, for
example, if your protective equipment
does not allow you to strike with the sur-
vival power you will need in a real life en-
counter, then fundamentally, you are be-
ing trained not to hit with the power you
will need to save your life, which means
you may never know how much power it
takes to win a fight until the moment of
truth. And you don’t want to have to ex-
periment during a fight for your life.
Sometimes I think that law enforce-
ment training has been commercialized
in the same way that martial arts train-
ing—where you can get a black belt in
three years—has been commercialized.
Yes, after completing such a program you
walk away with a sense of accomplish-
ment. But have you really mastered any-
thing? The answer is probably not.
I have attended many instructor train-
ing programs that did not physically and
mentally challenge the participants. They
paid a fee; they went through the training;
but they were required to exert little or no
effort to pass the course and receive the
certification.
Are You Fit for Duty?
There’s an important question that I
want to ask every officer reading this ar-
ticle: Are you fit for duty? Don’t BS your-
self here. Answer truthfully in your own
mind.
What does “fit for duty” truly mean?
Is an officer really fit for duty when he or
she cannot complete a [training] task due
to past injuries, medical issues, age, emo-
tional issues, or phobias?
I would say no. I would say that an of-
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Redefining
Fit for Duty
Officers should be exposed to OC spray
so they know how to react when they
encounter the substance in the field.

5. PoliceMag.com 49
signed to a waterfront area or a boat?
H What does your agency do if an officer is
unable to operate motor vehicles in a safe
and effective manner?
H What does your agency do if an officer is
unable to accurately deploy his or her non
lethal weapons?
H What does your agency do if an officer
cannot run 25 yards or up a flight of stairs
without being so out of breath that he or
she can’t physically assist the arresting of-
ficer in need of backup?
H What does your agency do if an officer
doesn’t understand the language being
used in the environment where he or she
is being tasked to work?
This list can go on and on. My point
here is what we call “safety issues” might
mask what they really are, which is an in-
ability to do the job.
Fit for Duty Test
I believe that a good law enforcement
training program reinforces self-aware-
ness and allows an officer to effectively
conduct personal evaluations to help as-
sist with these issues.
After reviewing the above performance
objectives, let’s finally look into a few im-
portant questions to help you respond to
this issue.
Will this failure jeopardize my life?
Will this failure jeopardize the lives of
other officers?
Will this failure jeopardize the lives of
the people we are sworn to protect?
Answeringyestoanyofthesequestions
means that you are not fit for duty.
I strongly encourage you and your
agency to adopt a fit-for-duty statement
that supports officer safety first and fore-
most. Being fit for duty is not only an of-
ficer safety issue, it is the mark of a pro-
fessional who is ready to fight to protect
him- or herself, fellow officers, and the
public.
Dave Young is the Director of Specialized
Programs for the Northcentral Technical
College—RedMan Training, and the Direc-
tor of Training for RedMan Training Gear.
A member of the POLICE Advisory Board,
he has served in law enforcement and cor-
rections for the U.S. Marines and civilian
agencies.
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