Fat Cops

[Not Very Fair]

My understanding is that as police age in Massachusetts, they are given fewer 'policing' duties, allowing more time for detail work which requires very little intelligence, hard work (unless overcoming boredom is considered hard work) or stamina.

Do you think that overweight police officers making huge salaries (over $100 US a year!) set a good example to children?

http://fatcop.10-8.org/

Not my kids!

[The West Newton Kid]

Not Very Fair wrote:

My understanding is that as police age in Massachusetts, they are given fewer 'policing' duties, allowing more time for detail work which requires very little intelligence, hard work (unless overcoming boredom is considered hard work) or stamina.
Do you think that overweight police officers making huge salaries (over $100 US a year!) set a good example to children?
http://fatcop.10-8.org/
Not my kids!

Being in proper physical shape should be a condition of employment for all cops; regardless of their age and regardless of their length of service. Again, all cops should be in proper physical shape.

And, no cops; including the Mass State Police; should be working out in gyms on the Taxpayers dime. The Mass State Police now have the option of working a 7 hour day and working out in a gym for the other hour; to earn 8 hours pay. This is just plain wrong. Because of this; the Mass State Police now actually serve the public 12.5% less than they were when they were working a full 8 hour shift. And, they are now 12.5% safer; because they are in a gym working out 12.5% of the time that they are getting paid; and a gym is a safe place to be.

All cops should be in good physical shape. And, they need to work out on their own time; not the Taxpayers time. Cops who are unable or unwilling to stay in shape should be fired for being unfit for duty; regardless of their age or their length of service.

[Jokes On Us]

I don't have a huge problem with cops who are out chasing down bad guys, active and needing to be fast and fit, being allocated some time at the gym as paid time. One hour for seven is a little much, but the idea isn't completely faulty.

What I would not understand would be an obsese cop, either one who is genetically that way but who has qualified for their job, or one who has become obese over time as they have aged, being paid to go to the gym since it would seem that the time in the gym is really not going to enable them to be able to do the same job as those cops who are fit and out doing jobs that require such fitness levels.

There are ALOT of overweight cops and they should be relegated to desk and other types of duties but definately should not be paid to work out.

My bigger concern though is that as cops age and some get overweight, they are trading more intense and more dangerous jobs for more office types of jobs AND are freed up more to serve detail. In a sense, growing fat as a cop is a good deal. You don't have to put yourself in danger, don't have to run anymore AND you get to make lots of extra money doing work that anyone with a brain could do (and please dont tell me that detail is that hard! 20 minutes and any middle schooler could learn the job).

The poverty rate in Mass for a 4 person family is about 19k, yet cops in my town early this figure and higher on detail alone! One cop earns over $40,000 just on his detail. This comes on top of a six figure salary. This is big money in this economy! I don't have a clue how are town is paying all of this but somehow or another its got to come out of the tax base.

If cops get fat that's their health issue to deal with but I don't want to be paying for it.

PS - Obesity causes disease and disease raises health insurance costs.