Pueblo Police Department holds annual fitness test for academy
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- After weeks of applications and a police academy hiring process, Pueblo Police officer hopefuls ran the fitness test and took the written exam Wednesday morning.
The fitness test is a basic level agility test. Those running must complete a series of obstacles testing strength, balance, and overall physical fitness.
"They must complete this course in two minutes and 45 seconds. They have two attempts to get over each obstacle. If they don't get over those obstacles or meet the time requirement, they are disqualified," Pueblo Police Captain James Martin said.
In order to create a fair fitness test, Pueblo Police took multiple officers from different age groups and genders and had them run the course. This helped them develop the guidelines for what it takes to be a police officer.
"All of our officers were able to pass this test. Anybody that has some level of physical fitness should be able to pass this course," Captain Martin said.
After passing the physical fitness test, officer hopefuls will enter Pueblo PD headquarters and take a written exam. It consists of 100 questions, and they must score at least 70% to pass.
One person that signed up to be a police officer was Nickolas Segura, a former officer with the Bent County Sheriff's office, La Junta Police Department, and Pueblo County Sheriff's Office.
He thought the physical fitness test was difficult, but he passed with plenty of time to spare.
"It didn't seem like the course was too long, but I was definitely winded afterwards," Segura said.
Segura said he wants to work for Pueblo PD for a variety of reasons, but most importantly a longing to get back into law enforcement.
"Once you get law enforcement into your blood, it's there for good. You might leave, but you definitely miss it. Once I left, I wanted to go right back to it," Segura said.
Pueblo Police will open their next recruitment for their academy in November. The academy will start in May of 2022. To sign up for their academy, you can go to the Pueblo Police Department website.
