If cops want to carry M4s. . . They will have to flex fitness tests

"Cops who want to shoot an M4 assault weapon will have to flex more than a trigger finger.

The Chicago Police Department recently launched physical fitness tests for cops who have applied to carry the semiautomatic rifles.

Members of gang, gun and tactical teams are the first ones being asked if they want to take the state-approved exam for officers, called the P.O.W.E.R. test.

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, questioned 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 said. "As long as you're proficient, you should be able to carry it."

Police spokeswoman Monique Bond disagreed.

"If you are grasping 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.

Officers who fail the test can re-take it as many times as they wish.

The plan is to deploy the weapon over the next one to three years, Bond said. The M4s have not been bought yet, she said.

One lieutenant said he thinks the department should first improve officers' access to shotguns.

The lieutenant, who asked not to be identified, said 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 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.

"It's a devastating, close-range weapon at 50 to 75 yards," the lieutenant said of a shotgun loaded with a lead slug instead of pellets.

Lots of training is needed with the M4 because the .223-caliber bullets can travel a mile, compared with a quarter mile for pistols, he said."

Whew. Good to know that out of shape cops don't let their handguns waver up and down while "grasping for breath" like Monique said. It is the GLOCK I think that has that anti-grasping feature and its a shame that they can't get M-4geries so equipped. It's also cool to discover that after traveling 1300 feet or thereabouts, a bullet fired from a handgun will stop dead in its tracks and drop out of the air.

I figure that if they ever get carbines with options for full rock & roll, only Olympic athletes will be permitted to use them. Sort of like the NYPD's Demi-God-Subway-Squad.

See all the neat stuff you can learn about firearms from the police department?