LawFit/FireFit LLC : Protecting Our Nation’s Public Safety Personnel
The 22nd Annual
National LawFit Challenge was held on
27, 28, and 29, June 2024,
Results have been calculated and verified.
They will be posted shortly.
A Call for National Fitness and Work Performance Standards
in Law Enforcement
Although law enforcement activities can be extremely physically demanding from time to time, a majority of the job-related duties of officers can be characterized as sedentary in nature (i.e., vehicle patrol, investigative activity, paperwork, public education, courtroom and/or detention facility monitoring). Such tasks are not conducive to the maintenance of a high level of physical fitness. In fact, the combination of intermittent, sudden, strenuous exertion and a basically sedentary work environment is responsible for a significant number of on-the-job injuries, illnesses, and deaths in law enforcement.
Over the past 20 years data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that 115 law enforcement officers die in the line of duty annually and 31,000 of them suffer lost work-time injuries. The death rate of 13.5/100,000 officers is four times higher than the death rate of 3.4/100,000 for all other occupations. Likewise, the injury rate for police officers (635/10,000) is three times higher than injury rates for all occupations (213/10,000).
An additional impetus to examine the health and fitness of public safety personnel has been the increase in litigation concerning officer use of force. The courts have held agencies responsible when officers who were not physically fit utilized lethal weapons in subduing unarmed suspects. Considering the officers’ lack of fitness and conditioning, jurists have concluded that the most effective method they have in subduing a suspect is the use of a firearm, instead of the application of non-lethal force. The courts have further found a deliberate indifference on the part of police departments with respect to adequately maintaining officers’ levels of fitness, thus resulting in a foreseeable risk to others.
Unless law enforcement agencies are willing to place sufficient emphasis on developing and maintaining fitness levels which allow their personnel to perform effectively in high-stress situations, they will be faced with on-going disability claims from officers in less-than-optimal condition who are injured in the line of duty. Additionally, these agencies will be vulnerable to lawsuits when their less-fit personnel are unable to perform their policing duties in a manner that protects the safety and welfare of the public. (Columbine, Colorado 20 April 1999, 13 dead), (Parkland, Florida 14 February 2018, 17 dead), (Uvalde, Texas 24 May 2022, 21 dead), (Atlanta, Georgia12 June 2020, Rayshard Brooks, dead), (Kenosha, Wisconsin 23 August 2020, Jacob Blake, critically wounded), (Brooklyn Center, Minnesota 11 April 2021, Daunte Wright, dead), (Spotsylvania, Virginia 21 April 2021, Isiah Brown., critically wounded), (Grand Rapids, Michigan 4 April 2022, Patrick Lyoya, dead), (Memphis, Tennessee 10 January 2023, Tyre
Nichols, dead), (Braxton, Mississippi 24 January 2023, Michael Jenkins and Eddie Parker, severely injured), (Fairfax, Virginia 22 February 2023, Timothy McCree Johnson, dead), (Petersburg, Virginia 6 March 2023, Irvo Otieno, dead), (Indianola, Mississippi 20 May 2023, Aderrien Murry, critically wounded), (San Antonio, Texas 23 June 2023, Melissa Perez, dead).
In response to a growing concern for the disabling illnesses and injuries suffered by their personnel, Police Departments and Sheriff’s Departments in Virginia began to address the issue of officer health and safety in the late 1980’s. Created in 1989, the LawFit Program was designed to increase the cardiorespiratory efficiency, muscular strength, muscular endurance, lean body mass, and flexibility of officers. Personnel from participating departments completed an initial battery of assessments to measure their levels of fitness. The tests included:
- One repetition-maximum bench press
- One-minute timed sit-up test
- Sit & reach flexibility test
- Push-ups
- Pull-ups
- 1.5-mile run
- Body fat estimation
- Resting heart rate
- Blood Pressure
These assessment tools were selected, since they have been found to be good predictors of the five major areas of fitness (aerobic capacity, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition).
Data from the assessments of 8081 public safety officers (6790 males, 1291 females) from 18 states has been used to create an age and gender-adjusted scoring system called LawFit Fitness Profiles.
After a statewide job task analysis of occupational qualifications for entry-level police officers in 1998, a 154-yard work performance test to measure an officer’s ability to complete these core functions of policing was developed and validated. Timed standards have been determined for both pre-hire screening and post academy testing.
For 34 years the mission of the LawFit Program has been to protect the health and wellness of public safety personnel, while providing them with the tools to maintain optimum levels of job performance while protecting members of the public.
In 2023 and 2024, our goal is to train LawFit Fitness Leaders throughout the United States who can then take this program to their agencies. LawFit 2-Day Certification Workshops provide Fitness Leaders with a variety of assessment tools and training strategies for planning and implementing effective health maintenance programs for their officers. We see it as a win-win for all concerned and a very cost-effective way to protect law enforcement personnel and the citizens they serve.
Your Criminal Justice Agency can play a significant leadership role in this mission. If you would like to schedule a LawFit Workshop, give us a call at: (703-424-6154); send your email to: dbever@lawfit.org; or visit our website: www.lawfit.org for more information.
WE ARE LAWFIT!
The Dr.
Dr. David Bever
Founder and Director
LawFit/FireFit, LLC
3408 Park Hill Place
Fairfax, VA 22030-2027
(703)-424-6154
dbever@lawfit.org
www.lawfit.or
Thomas Tuggle
Ron Besset
(Non-Denominational Prayer Circle)
(At The Starting Line)
(Obstacle Course Start)
(Judges confer)
A Call for National Fitness and Work Performance Standards
in Law Enforcement
Welcome to LawFit
Through our Fitness Leadership Workshops and Departmental Training Programs we have evaluated more than 8,000 law enforcement officers and 2000 firefighters.
LawFit Challenge Campus (Above)
Representative of the many teams that compete each year