New Fitness Regime Aimed At Officer Safety

INDIANAPOLIS -- New recruits with Indianapolis police will experience an innovative fitness regime intended to take them safely all the way through retirement.

The Crossfit program, a high-intensity strength and conditioning plan, was designed to address some of the dangers plaguing police officers.

National statistics show that those in law enforcement live an average of 15 years less than most Americans and that 50 percent die of heart-related disease within five years of retirement, 6News' Jack Rinehart reported.

"This is just as much an officer safety concern as a high-risk traffic stop or armed encounters with armed criminals," said Sgt. Rick Snyder.

Crossfit uses a number of functional core exercises designed to increase cardio-respiratory endurance and stamina, providing key training for officers.

The latest recruit class was the first to use the program and saw no injuries during training, down from an average of 25 percent in past years, officials said.

"If you are a police officer, if you are a firefighter, you are by virtue of that title a professional athlete and you need to train like one," said trainer Lt. Vince Cascella.

Chief Michael Spears said that the program has a payoff for the officer, but also for the taxpayers.

"Certainly it's proven that through better fitness officers lose less time from work, recover from injuries more quickly so they have less lost time from the police department," he said.

All future recruit classes will be trained using the Crossfit program. The department is working on incentives to encourage current officers to join the program as well.