‘Tough Cop’ Sweeps Police Games--on Junk Food

The Toughest Cop Alive eats about a dozen chocolate chip cookies for breakfast and has hamburgers from one of the greasiest fast-food chains around for lunch.

Living on junk food does not appear to have hindered the athletic performance of Mike Bender, a Simi Valley auto theft detective who triumphantly returned home Sunday with the highest honor from the biennial World Police and Fire Games. Bender, 34, has won the “Toughest Cop Alive” contest since the international competition began in 1985.

Despite a steady diet of fat and sugar, he ran faster, threw a shot put farther, climbed a 20-foot rope faster and did more pullups--38--than any of the other 166 firefighters and police officers in this year’s contest. And he did it all in one day while competing, at his request, in the most difficult category--men younger than 29.

Small Town Victory

“It was a killer,” said Bender, whose biceps are the size of an average man’s thighs. “But it was worth it because this shows that cops from a small town can beat the entire Los Angeles Police Department.”

Two other members of the Simi Valley Police Department won gold medals at last week’s games, held in Vancouver, Canada. William Sterling Johnson, 45, and his dog, Atlas, 7, worked as a team to win a gold medal in the police canine competition, in which the dog jumped over such obstacles as a 5-foot chain-link fence and discovered which of five boxes concealed a suspect. The two scored 291.75 out of a possible 300 points.

Bender scored 6,667 points this year out of a possible 8,000, a lower score than the 6,874 points he won in the 1985 games. The blond, 6-foot-1, mustachioed detective, who weighs 190 pounds, said he made a poorer showing because the obstacle course and race course were more difficult and because he is growing older.

Bender began to get in shape for the competition in May, working out about six times a week--lifting weights, running and climbing ropes about twice a week more than his usual four days. In addition to cookies and hamburgers, Bender said he ate brown rice, poultry and vegetables.

Judge in ’91

“I’ve had my fill of competing,” Bender said. “I look forward to helping judge the contest in 1991.”

But Sgt. Tony Harper, Bender’s former supervisor, said he has heard Bender make similar comments after his previous victories. Harper called Bender a highly disciplined natural athlete who doesn’t let the pressure to excel interfere with his performance.

“One thing about police work is that we keep getting older, but the crooks are always about 19 or 20,” Harper said. “It’s nice to have someone fit like Mike around.”

Despite his accolades, Bender has faced problems at work. The department recently recommended that he be disciplined for allegedly sexually harassing his ex-wife, who is also an officer on the force. Bender said he is appealing the action, in which he could face suspension for 10 days and a pay cut of $115 per month for a year.