Becoming A Fargo Police Officer: Do You Have What It Takes?

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The Fargo Police Department is one step closer to finding its new officers.

KVRR’s Sarah Brechbill joined them for the first step of the hiring process and she joins us LIVE.

Sarah?

TJ and Alison, it’s a long process to join the Fargo Police Department and today was day one.

Men and women interested in becoming officers had to pass the first test, by getting a little sweaty.

Steve Tucker doesn’t usually start his morning this way.

“Woke up at five this morning…stretched for about two hours,” says Steve Tucker of Barnesville, Minn. 

But it’s not just any day, this is the first step in the process to hopefully join the Fargo Police force.

“It’s a bigger department so I have a chance at what I want to be which is an investigator eventually,” says Tucker.

But before he can even interview he must pass the test, the fitness test.

“They have to run a mile and a half in under 14 minutes and 54 seconds and then we do push-ups and sit–ups and then we do a sit and reach which is a stretching exercise. Then they also have to do a 300 meter run in under 66 seconds,” says Sgt. Mike Bernier. 

Passing the mile and a half, now it’s on to the sit–ups.

“The sit–ups is going to be crazy because I’m OK but I could be better,” says Tucker.

“And if an officer fails any part of the test they’ll immediately have to leave. If they pass, it’s on to the written test.”

As for Steve, it looks like the two hours of stretching paid off but he might have someone else to thank.

“I got a big thank you to my wife for helping me every night with that and stretching and all that. Did the sit and reach just fine. Probably the first time I’ve touched my toes in 10 years,” says Tucker. 

And just like that, Steve is one step closer to becoming a Fargo Police Officer.

TJ and Alison, everyone passed the fitness test.

The next is a written test and interview.

The department has openings for five new officers and depending on a grant and some possible retirements, there could even be more.

Reporting live, Sarah Brechbill KVRR news.