NEW YORK – The response is loud and clear, including from the NYPD Commissioner herself, that female police officers are”offended” and “insulted” by NYPD’s efforts to boost gender equity by lowering standards during the applicant physical fitness qualification, which includes scrapping the timed 1.5-mile run.
The controversial shift implemented by former training Chief Juanita Holmes would help more female applicants make the grade. However, it sparked fireworks between Holmes and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, who sources said wanted the timed run to remain in place.
The 1.5-mile run was eliminated and Holmes was abruptly reassigned to lead the city Probation Department on March 9, the New York Post reported.
The run “will no longer be part of the final evaluation of officers” an NYPD spokesperson confirmed on Friday.
Former Chief of Training Juanita Holmes (NYPD)
“I’m offended,” one female officer told the news outlet while on patrol Friday. “We were in the academy when it was on the fence whether or not [the run] was going to be canceled and we had to pass it to get through the academy. … If those females don’t want to put in that effort to pass the mile and a half run, I don’t think they should be cops.”
Female police officers are “offended” by the lowering of standards during the physical fitness qualification. (YouTube – NYPD)
Another female officer patrolling the streets of Manhattan said, “If I did [the run], everyone should do it.”
Cathy Johansen is the leader of the New York Women in Law Enforcement. She said that lowering the standard “is an insult” and “will result in lackluster candidates” and “sub-standard officers.”
Johansen confirmed that NYWLE “strongly supports” the 30×30 initiative which aims to increase the representation of women in law enforcement to 30% by 2030 “but lowering standards is not the answer.”
The internal feud boiled over after NYPD dramatically relaxed the police fitness test amid a record wave of retirements in recent years.
The department last year replaced a faux 6-foot wall inside the Police Academy gym with a chain-link fence that’s easier to climb, according to official recruiting videos posted online.
The “Barrier Surmount” is one of six tasks that comprise a physical exam known as the “Job Standard Test” that police candidates are required to pass before beginning six months of training at the academy in Flushing, Queens.
The NYPD fitness test was reportedly made easier due to increased departures. (NYPD)
Prospective officers previously had to scale a 6-foot wall as part of the PFQ. (NYPD)
Furthermore, in order to boost the passing rate for the obstacle course, the 3:28 time limit that was the standard in 2019 was extended by a full minute — to 4:28 — in 2021, according to the NYPD recruiting videos.
Now, in the absence of the timed run, the only physical fitness qualification for NYPD recruits is the Job Standard Test, the multi-step obstacle course, which now needs to be completed in 4:28 after a minute was added to the passing time.
Professor Jillian Snider from John Jay College of Criminal Justice worked 13 years at NYPD, leaving the department in 2019. She is also among those criticizing the move to scrap the run, The Post reported.
“I’m more mad that they’re eliminating the run requirements and blaming it on the need to recruit more women,” she said.
