How is someone that gets out of breath eating a donut going to protect and serve anyone?

  • Jhex@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    How is someone that gets out of breath eating a donut going to protect and serve anyone?

    They don’t serve anyone

  • OceanSoap@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    I think once you pass the physical strength/endurance exam to become a cop, you don’t have to take any to remain one. I definitely think that should change, though. Make them pass once a year to retain their job.

    • madcaesar@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      Fuck the physical part, they should take yearly psychological exams and have continuous education on conflict resolution.

    • waggz@programming.dev
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      5 days ago

      There are definitely agencies that do exactly what you described. The one I’m most familiar with has a sliding scale based on age and they are required to pass annually.

    • ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works
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      5 days ago

      They don’t even have to pass those if they don’t want to. In portions of America it is just: win an election, appoint your friends and lackies.

      A lot of departments use the admission tests to screen out candidates who might be overqualified: they specifically won’t want the best. An overwight blob is preferable to an in shape individual that might think before acting.

  • PolydoreSmith@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Reminds me of my favorite Simpson’s quote.

    Marge (to Bart): “Your father wanted to be a police officer but they said he was too heavy.”

    Homer: “No the army said I was too heavy, the police said I was too dumb.”

  • kreskin@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Why are they also so clearly low iq, and hyper violent?
    and why are they paid so well?

  • Echo5@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Heard from a local cop that it had something to do with the union. If the department wants to implement a standard the union would require something or other. Something about an incentive? I didn’t get the whole picture obviously. I know police need unions in case somebody sues them but does seem kind of dumb that it’s so difficult to enforce a physical standard.

    • Delphia@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      Now I dont work in the law enforcement industry but I do work in an industry that has supposed fitness requirements although they arent enforced.

      For us, the union told them “If they have to maintain a weight of X to remain employed. You have to pay them to hit the gym on company time or pay their gym fees and an allowance.” So the company filed that away under “fuck that”. Now if you get too fat for the equipment they just move you to a different duty, often one with a shitload of walking around.

  • lechekaflan@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    In my part of the world, cops are near on top of the food chain in any town and city, sometimes literally getting a free pass as long as they do something for a politician, a celebrity, or a business personality. So some of them, especially senior officers, do eventually get obese because not only they get to choose what duties they want to carry out, but also either they have three full square meals plus two snacks a day, or maybe a drinking party two to four times a month.

    Of course they – the Philippine National Police – are a government agency, but also they’re a fraternity, the so-called “Brotherhood”: “you scratch my back as long as I scratch yours”.

  • Warl0k3@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Non joke answer: A bunch of reasons. Many precincts are understaffed, so they need all the hands they can get. The police union is huge and makes it extremely difficult to fire even the most homer-simpsonian individuals. Many of the hugely obese cops are assigned to “light duty” meaning the most exertion they face is paperwork, manning the public information desk and or doing things like serving writs (in some cases you’re allowed to wear the uniformn even if you’re not a bonded officer, which is absurd). Additionally, fitness requirements are actually fairly rare across the whole spectrum of law enforcement - It’s surprisingly rare to see them for any positions besides uniformed patrol officer, even detectives or etc. aren’t always required to pass them - and even when you do, they’re usually pathetically easy to pass.

  • absolutejank@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    to give an answer to a rhetorical question: because firing people based on weight is a can of worms being opened. while it’s still technically not illegal to fire someone because their weight makes them “unfit,” the ada can be invoked if said obesity is caused by a disorder (e.g., type 1 diabetes). this ignores the fact that it’s hard to prove that someone would be unfit just for their weight; it just opens up employers to lawsuits. a simpler way to think about it would be to ask yourself if the guy handing out speeding tickets is “unfit for duty” solely because he’s obese.

  • Lord Wiggle@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    From what I’ve seen, they don’t even learn about the law and often break the law by illegal detainment, searches and confiscation. Cops who served for over 20 years but don’t know people their rights. They often get minimal training while having to serve alone where everyone carries a gun. That’s asking for problems. And now cops in the US are militarized with heavy combat gear, while the majority is white and racist. So obesity is the least of the problems with US police.

  • MTK@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Kind of an over simplification. Yeah, cops should ideally be fit-ish but even an obese person with a gun or a tazer can protect people, maybe not as well but still, and that doesn’t take into account the fact that a lot of cops are not actually on the streets but rather in an office doing paperwork etc. The problems are:

    • There are maybe not enough cops that are fit for actual fights?
    • Cops are ridiculously undertrained and unfiltered, giving us all if these assholes that really just like power.
  • FreakinSteve@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    NYPD is an army with offices around the world and pays as much as $600,000/year to individuals for pension.

    They are not a police force; they are a Mafia.

    Most small town.police forces are the same.

    Their job is not to stop crime; it is to serve the wealthy and crush their opponents.

    This is why every American should be armed at all times and ready to defend each other immediately.