AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF)- The Texas Department of Public Safety Officers Association (DPSOA) filed a lawsuit against the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) because of a new policy that requires officers to meet new standards for belly size.
Richard Jankovsky President of the DPSOA said the new “Command Presence policy” policy requires waist measurements of no more than 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women. “Twice a year we do physical assessments where we are subjected to a variety of testing to see if we are in shape and we don’t think ones belly measurements is indicative of them being able to do their job,” he said.
The lawsuit comes after DPS instituted the policy without the aid of a consultant in developing these waistline standards, as state law requires.
The policy states DPS Troopers who do not meet the new standards for belly size face serious repercussions, including termination, even if they pass all other required parts of the Department’s physical fitness testing and despite their proficiency to do the job. “Not only is this policy demeaning, it is damaging to our troopers and to our citizens,” said Jankovsky.“Not all physically fit troopers are of the same body type, the same height or the same genetic makeup. Troopers have been subject to fitness standards for more than a decade. The new standards have moved beyond testing for fitness needed to perform one’s duty as an officer into an appearance policy that has little bearing on an officer’s ability to keep Texans safe,” he said.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by DPSOA in a Travis County District Court, asks the Court to put the policy on hold until its legality can be determined.
