While it’s true that cops are losing their jobs, public sector  pensions and benefits are under attack and law enforcement agencies are continuing to struggle to get new hires and keep the officers they already have, many police leaders have decided that there is a more important issue to focus on. And that topic is fitness. While not everyone has gone as far as the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. – they recently hired a full-time dietician to help the rank and file drop pounds – some top cops have decided on the “carrot and stick” approach.

In Chicago, the new boss and former G-man Jody Weis, a well known physical fitness fanatic, has made the priority of officer fitness clear. For instance, if city cops want to shoot an M4 assault weapon, they will have to prove that they’re in top shape.

The Chicago Police Department recently launched physical fitness tests for cops who have applied to carry the semiautomatic rifle. Members of gang, gun and tactical teams are the first ones being asked if they want to take the state-approved exam called the P.O.W.E.R. test where a male officer between 30 and 40 years old must run 1.5 miles in 14.3 minutes, do 34 sit-ups in a minute, bench press 87 percent of his weight and do a 15-inch sit-and-reach.

Mark Donahue, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, wonders why cops need to pass a fitness test to carry M4s. “I don’t believe it’s likely that situations would arise where you’d be running great distances with this weapon,” Donahue told reporters Frank Main and Fran Speilman of the Chicago Sun Times.

“As long as you’re proficient, you should be able to carry it.” But Chicago P.D. spokeswoman Monique Bond disagreed.

“If you are gasping for breath, the weapon could waver up and down,” she said. Bond said 85 percent of the officers who’ve taken the fitness test for the M4s have passed. She would not say how many have taken it. One lieutenant who  asked not to be identified said he thinks the department should first improve officers’ access to shotguns.

The lieutenant told reporters that eight shotguns are stored in each of the city’s 25 districts, but can only be used with a watch commander’s approval and only in limited circumstances such as executing search warrants and surveillance.

He recommended the department equip squad cars with gun racks to allow officers to carry them in the field around the clock.

In addition, Superintendent Weis is proposing mandatory annual fitness tests for new and promoted officers starting in 2009. Cops who fail the test twice would undergo further evaluation about whether they’re fit for duty.