Raleigh Mayor Janet Cowell recently impressed Raleigh Police Academy instructors. Cowell completed the physical abilities fitness test that students must pass to graduate from the academy. And she aced it!
Cowell wanted to try the test after attending a recent police academy graduation ceremony.
“At the ceremony, the academy staff awarded a female recruit in her 20s the ‘Physical Fitness Award’ as she was the top athlete of her class. There was also a graduate who was 50 plus, and he had passed the test. So, I do a lot of strength training, and I thought, well, why not work towards this test and trying it out?”
The Basic Law Enforcement Training fitness test, sanctioned by the State of North Carolina, is a timed, two-part challenge. It includes running, jumping, crawling, and doing push-ups, along with dragging a 175-pound dummy and rolling with a 100-pound bag.
“This test measures the officer's ability to actually do the physical tasks that may be required on the street,” says Sgt. Steven Helewski. “You don't know what the call is going to entail. You may have to run. You may have to wrestle with someone. We don't know what we are actually going to have to do on each call.”
Completing the test was yet another reminder how challenging a police officer’s job can be.
“To me, this shows how fit our police officers are,” Cowell says. “We have a lot of great officers. And this just helped me appreciate their preparedness for their role."