BELTON (October 9, 2009)—Saying that a lawsuit filed by six Killeen police officers over the Killeen Police Department’s mandatory fitness testing program “will likely succeed,” 169th District Judge Gordon Adams Friday granted a temporary injunction putting the brakes on the program and the testing, which was to have started on Tuesday.

Adams set a hearing on a permanent injunction for Jan. 27.

In the brief ruling issued Friday afternoon, Adams said the officers showed they have a cause of action and “that they will likely succeed on the merits” because a portion of the requirements of the testing program “has the effect of sanctioning police officers without complying with the procedural mechanism outlined in the Texas Local Government Code.”

"We are pleased with the judge's decision. We're ready to go back to work and continue providing dedicated service to the citizens of Killeen,” said Chris Ferman, president of the West Bell County Fraternal Order of Police, which, with the Killeen Municipal Police Association, filed the lawsuit challenging the department’s new physical fitness standards late last month.

The two groups, which represent a majority of the city’s police officers, oppose the standards, saying that they could cost some good veteran officers their jobs.

All of the department’s commissioned officers from the chief down would have had to meet the standards, which were unveiled two years ago, regardless of age, gender or experience.

Officers who failed to measure up after three tests would have lost their jobs.

"We take issue with the fact that they're implementing this test and then using those tests results to unilaterally, on their own, determine whether or not a police officer is fit to do their duties,” said
Josh Fogelman, who represents the officers on whose behalf the suit was filed.

But the city argued the requirement is vital to ensuring Killeen’s police officers are physically able to perform their jobs.

“The city wants to work with officers to get them in shape in order to perform their jobs,” said attorney Stuart Smith.

Smith said Friday he has requested another hearing next week and said between now and then Killeen officials plan to revise the program so it complies with the local government code.

For current officers, the standards require a vertical jump of at least 16 inches; an agility run that must be complete in no more than 19.6 seconds; a 300 meter run that must be completed in no more than 74 seconds, at least 21 push ups, and a 1.5 mile run that must be completed in no more than 18 minutes and 48 seconds.