Video: Overweight Nebraska Officer Struggles


It has always been my belief that if you are a police officer it is your duty–to yourself and your family–to stay in shape. Why increase the odds of getting hurt or even killed? There should be periodic testing to ensure that officers are in somewhat decent shape for the job. Just my opinion….

He couldn’t bend over to get into a robbed business!

BELLEVUE, Neb. —

Should a police officer’s physical condition determine whether he is fit for duty?

A police officer in Nebraska recently got his job back after a lengthy court battle.

Now, new surveillance video shows another Bellevue officer struggling on the job.

On May 5, Bellevue police Sgt. Matt Jarvis and his partner answered an alarm at Scooter’s Coffee Shop. With the glass door broken, Jarvis’ partner entered the building without any problem.

But because of Jarvis’ larger size, he couldn’t bend over to get through. Surveillance video showed that Jarvis left his partner alone inside the coffee shop for a full minute.

Then, Jarvis put down his gun, and spent 30 seconds crawling through the door.

“Functionally, he got through it and did what he was supposed to do,” Bellevue police Chief John Stacey said.

Stacey defended Jarvis’ performance, saying he doesn’t believe he put his partner in jeopardy.

“To have somebody armchair quarterback them who’s never done that, that’s not my Game,” Stacey said.

Jarvis, a 30-year veteran with the Bellevue police department, is a defensive tactics instructor.

Stacey said Jarvis has passed the state-mandated gun test that requires officers to kneel down, shoot and get back up.

“No one has failed (the test), with the exception of one,” Stacey said.

That person was Chris Parent, a 350-pound officer who was fired two years ago when he failed to pass the training test.

A court has ordered Stacey to give Parent another chance.

The only time we can get involved is if they cannot do the job. It’s like, ‘Are you too tall? Too short? Too fat? Too homely-looking?’ Where do you draw the line?” Stacey said. Meanwhile, Parent is back on the police payroll, but he won’t be on the street until he passes the training test.

Stacey said he hopes Jarvis will see the surveillance video as an opportunity to improve his performance.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

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