Parks’ Plan for Reshaping LAPD Includes Waistlines

Los Angeles Police Chief Bernard C. Parks wants to trim the fat.

Tackling what some say is a weighty issue, the fit new LAPD chief is considering offering money, medals or other incentives to convince officers to shed some pounds and get into better shape.

Cops who are healthy are treated “with a little more respect than if you’re slouched over with your gut hanging out,” said Officer Robert Moore as he sipped coffee at a convenience store near USC. “People are less likely to run from you, too.”

Although personal fitness is a matter of pride for many LAPD officers, others hang bulging stomachs on their belts along with their guns.

“We definitely have a few people around here who are pushing maximum density,” said one fit-looking patrol officer.

Parks, who stands 6 feet, 2 inches and is a lean 210 pounds, said in an interview this week that physical conditioning means much more than simply looking good in uniform. It makes officers more confident, gives them greater “command presence” and cuts down on costly injuries and sick days.

But getting in shape is easier said then done.

Indulging in a steak sandwich and fried zucchini strips at an East Los Angeles hamburger stand, the trim Sgt. Tim Smith said many patrol officers only have a few minutes for lunch each day, and sometimes fatty fast food is the only option.

Smith’s dining companion, powerfully built Officer Mike Hargreaves, said he doesn’t mind exercising but draws a line at obsessive dieting.

“Just because you’re physically fit,” Hargreaves said as he downed a French fry, “doesn’t mean you have to suck the joy out of everything.”

For years, fitness regimens for the LAPD have been proposed and have died in the bureaucratic maze. One was contained in a strategic plan during the regime of former Chief Willie L. Williams--whose portly physique was an object of ridicule among the rank and file--but was never implemented.

Parks, after he was sworn in to office Tuesday, announced that he hopes that he’ll be able to create an incentive program similar to those offered to officers for achieving high levels of marksmanship or bilingual skills.

Perhaps a dollars-for-no-doughnuts initiative?

Although the department requires incoming recruits to pass physical tests in areas such as sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups and running, cadets are not required to maintain their conditioning once they graduate from the Police Academy.

Members of the elite Metropolitan Division, which includes the SWAT team, are required to remain physically fit. But they have an incentive of sorts: Their workouts are considered part of their workday.

In an interview this week, Parks said he was still working on the matter and did not yet have any specifics to propose.

Fitness incentive programs are somewhat rare within the law enforcement community, authorities said. Locally, the Beverly Hills Police Department offers fiscal incentives for exceptional levels of physical fitness, and makes keeping in shape a condition of employment. Officers in top condition can earn bonuses of up to 5.5% of their annual salaries.

Officials with the Los Angeles City Fire Department said they are also considering a fitness incentive program.

To some LAPD officers, the fact that Parks is considering action is a sign that he plans to restore the department’s image as a highly trained and fit work force.

Out-of-shape cops are “a problem,” said Dave Hepburn, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League. He said a meaningful financial incentive plan would go a long way toward improving the fitness among the 9,400 sworn officers on the force and would probably end up saving taxpayer money on worker’s compensation claims, sick days and productivity.

“Positive financial incentives will increase their motivation,” Hepburn said. “Ribbons and buttons are not much incentive. They’d be put in the top drawer of the dresser.”

Although some officers tend to let themselves go as they get older, climb up the organizational ladder or get desk jobs, LAPD Training Officer Jerry Fritz said he is also seeing some younger cops getting a little flabby.

Working out “should be important to every police officer,” said the 52-year-old veteran during a break between bench presses at the North Hollywood station’s gym. “We have guys getting out of the state penitentiary bench-pressing 450 to 500 pounds. . . . Police officers have to keep in shape or you’ll get yourself hurt.”

Fritz said that as recently as 1990, officers had about 40 minutes after roll call to lift weights.

“That fell by the wayside,” he said.

Police officers must juggle their time between patrolling in their cars, appearing in court and handling paperwork, not to mention seeing their families and getting their sleep, Fritz said.

Regardless, police should make time to keep in shape, for themselves and the people they protect, he said.

Det. Bob Lopez, a 20-year veteran who was eating at Nick’s Cafe, a police hangout north of downtown, noted that the lean Parks is a good role model to promote departmentwide physical fitness.

“The bottom line is you’ve got to look good in uniform,” Lopez said. “Now you’ve got [a] chief who’s slim and trim and looks good in uniform. It’s not an embarrassment to be seen with him.”

Despite his lean appearance, Parks is not what most would call a fitness guru.

“I run every morning,” he said this week. “I wait as long as I can and then I run from the bed to the bathroom.”

Times correspondent Claire Vitucci contributed to this story.