Applicants run on the track at Trinity Lutheran High School as part of the 2020 Seymour Police Department physical agility testing Saturday. Jordan Morey

Long before trainees enter the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy to become police officers, they are required to pass a set of standards that are laid out on a piece of lime green paper.

Once their personal information is filled out on the form, applicants are required to pass five strenuous tests if they want to move on to the next phase of the employment process.

Each phase must be passed or the hiring process ends before any formal interviews are conducted.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]

On Saturday morning, 32 men and women underwent physical agility testing at Trinity Lutheran High School in Seymour for the chance to join the Seymour Police Department.

All of the candidates applied in hopes of being selected for the one of three positions Seymour Police Chief Bryant Lucas will have to fill over the next six months.

Lucas was assisted by some of his officers and administrative assistant Jana Gray in the Bollinger Athletic Complex during the morning.

Those who passed the physical testing took a written test at the department to further shrink the applicant pool in the afternoon.

At 8 a.m., testing began with 24 sit-ups in one minute. That was followed by a maximum number of 21 push-ups.

It didn’t take long to weed out potential hires, as five applicants dropped off after the initial round of testing.

“We need to know and have a comfort that they have the physical ability to do the job,” Lucas said. “We see a lot of people that aren’t prepared.”

The applicants then went outside to complete a 300-meter run in 82 seconds before turning to the gymnasium for a vertical test, which required a jump of at least 13.5 inches.

To conclude testing, the applicants headed out to the track to complete a 1.5-mile run in 18 minutes, 56 seconds.

After completing the written challenges, which Lucas described as a general knowledge test, candidates were ranked from top to bottom.

Lucas will invite a handful of applicants back in the coming weeks for in-person interviews, and those who pass those talks are given physical and psychological evaluations in Indianapolis.

Once the candidates pass the evaluations, final hires are made.

Patrick Ruark, 25, of Seymour said he was hired as a dispatcher last year after taking the tests, but he wants to take on an officer role with the department.

“There are a couple of reasons why I want to be an officer,” Ruark said. “I don’t have a degree in anything, and I have a family, a daughter, and I want to for financial reasons. I also live in this town, so why not do the best I can? I’m going to do everything I can to get drugs off the streets.”

SPD often sees officers from other communities apply for jobs.

Anthony Bagby, 27, has been a police officer in North Vernon since 2017 but is looking at joining SPD.

“It’s a bigger opportunity,” Bagby said. “There are more opportunities to specialize in a bigger department. I might be able to get out of an officer role and move more toward something like narcotics.”

The lengthy process to become an officer will continue after Lucas makes his picks.

Those who are chosen from the SPD testing that haven’t gone to the academy already must complete a 16-week program at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield.

After graduating from the academy, new officers serve a probationary period, where they spend time with senior officers for in-the-field training. During that time, officers also have to be approved for the local and state pension fund.

Lucas said physical demands aren’t just met before an officer is hired.

There are incentives for officers to stay in shape once they are working for the department.

“We have a PT assessment every year that they take,” Lucas said. “We give them a bonus depending on where they score. It’s an incentive to keep them in shape. We also have a weight room in the department to help them stay in shape. As a police officer, it’s very important.”

Lucas applauded the applicants who came out Saturday to get involved with the department.

“Being a police officer is a calling,” he said.