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FITNESS NO BAR: NYPD eases physical requirements to fill MASSIVE VOID after wave of retirements

The top brass of the New York police force is reportedly desperate for new aspirants to fill out ranks left by retired cops

The NYPD has reportedly relaxed the fitness requirements to become a city cop following an unprecedented wave of retirements that has created a crippling void in the ranks.

The top brass of the New York police force is reportedly desperate for new aspirants to fill out ranks left by retired cops. According to official recruiting videos posted online, the department has replaced a faux 6-foot wall inside the Police Academy gym with a chain-link fence that’s easier to climb. The changes came after a cellphone video went viral last year showing a number of out-of-shape candidates trying and failing to make it over the wall. One applicant was seen hanging his head in shame after two failed attempts at the task.

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According to the New York Post, the 'Barrier Surmount' is one of six tasks in a physical test known as the 'Job Standard Test' or JST taken by candidates aspiring to become cops before they can qualify to begin the six months of training at the police academy in Flushing, Queens. However, the latest NYPD recruiting videos posted on YouTube show that the 28-second time limit that was in place in 2019 was extended by nearly a full minute last year to boost the passing rate.

Speaking to the Post, one disappointed cop said it's "really not hard" to pass the fitness test, which includes repeatedly running up and down a six-step staircase and using a weight machine meant to mimic struggling with a suspect. “If you can’t pass the basic requirements for being a police officer, you shouldn’t be one,” another veteran cop said on condition of anonymity.

Furthermore, the NYPD appears to have scrapped another requirement that potential candidates run 1.5 miles in 14:21 or less to graduate from the academy. That rule is mentioned on an official web page that features the 2019 JST video, but is not part of another page that features last year's video. Sources told the newspaper that the 1.5-mile run hasn't been officially eliminated, but top-ranking officers are considering scrapping it. “So many people are retiring in droves and they have to fill these positions," one said.

More than 2,100 officers have retired or quit the NYPD amid an unprecedented exodus this year. This is after 1,535 cops left the force during the first six months of 2020 during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. That said, the academy class that graduated on Friday, July 1, comprised just 561 new cops, which is almost half the number that the NYPD top brass was hoping to recruit.

Applications for the NYPD written exams were opened on June 8 with a July 15 deadline. Testing is scheduled to start on August 12. “Our physical fitness requirements in the Police Academy have been reviewed and approved by [the] New York State Division of Criminal Justice Service and the NYPD will continue to abide by any guidelines issued by the state," a department spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday, July 5.