A police department in Nebraska fired Christopher Parent for not maintaining a “high level of physical, mental and emotional conditioning”.
A court said nope, he was “fairly” fit.
Paragon of fitness
His firing had stemmed from his performance during a combat shooting exercise. This represents, to my mind, an undue interference on the part of the court. They dug into a “wellness” manual, which is not a standard, but an attempt to set in place practices that can lead to better fitness.
I hope the city fights this and wins at the next level of court.
I wish Mr. Parent the best of luck in what other career he chooses, but I wouldn’t want as a citizen, to depend on his protections. Or if I were a fellow police officer to depend on him for backup, or to be obligated to put myself at risk when his fitness fails him at a critical time.
This is the kind of case that reminds us that lawyers may be educated but they often aren’t smart.
March 18th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Every department has a handful of these types. You can thank the unions for stopping any attempt to make physical fitness standards a part of the job. No one expects a 40 year old to be in the same shape as a kid out of the academy, but guys like this are an embarrasment.
You are right in all your arguments for why this guy should not be a cop. Additionally, you can count on his kind to cost his city many dollars in back injury, heart trouble, lost time at work and any other number of ailments.
March 18th, 2009 at 11:49 am
40 year olds might offer experience to offset their physical decline. Although, I’m not particularly less fit than when I was 20. I’m certainly stronger.
I can’t think of any level of “wile” that would offset 300lbs + body armor + gear.
March 18th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
From the article: “Bellevue Police Lt. Mark Elbert has said Parent, whose 2005-issued Nebraska driver’s license listed him at 5-foot-9 and 300 pounds, was fired under a policy that requires officers to be physically fit.”
I’m a fairly, ahem, ROBUST guy myself (but not THAT robust), and when I saw that picture, I thought, “No way that guy’s only 300 lbs.” Gee, I wonder if he’s gained any weight since ’05?
I agree with both you and Kevin; at this size, he’s a liability to the citizenry and his fellow officers, and a great candidate to drop from a heart attack at the most inopportune time (not that there’s really a good time for a coronary, of course).
To me, this is of a piece of the issue of testing standards for female (or small male) firefighters: If you can meet the physical standards of the job, great. If, however, you can’t lift that standard-size male (say 200 lbs) and carry them out of danger, well, that makes you ineffective and potentially dangerous in the position. Sounds like his fellow officers feel that way about this guy and his shooting/combat tactics.
Last thing I wonder is: What did he do to get busted from detective back to patrol duty after 25 years of service?
March 18th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Good question. Perhaps his patron retired?