Overweight cops in a New York Police Department unit are outraged that they have been ordered to get in shape by their commanding officer and must pay for a makeshift gym themselves,
reports The New York Post citing sources.
Inspector Ellen Chang has told a group of officers in the Community Affairs Division that they must hand over $30 each for fat-busting fitness equipment, consisting of a stationary bike, a treadmill, a StairMaster and 350 pounds of free weights, the newspaper said.
They have ballooned to "obese proportions," and would never be able to chase down a suspect during a crime, according to the sources. "They are mostly all pathetically fat," a source said. "They get heavy on the job. There’s a lot of sitting around and eating Twinkies at your desk."
But despite their heavyset condition, some officers are angry that they are being forced to exercise by Chang, a superfit triathlete with a sturdy physique, and called her plan "bull … "
One rather rotund officer told the Post’s sources he’s furious that he’s having to fund the fitness regimen, saying, "It’s not right that we’ve gotta pay for something she wants. And if you say, ‘No,’ you get told, 'You could use the exercise.'"
The Community Affairs Division handles police relations with local organizations, which doesn’t require the workforce of roughly 30 cops to endure any physical labor or running.
Chang, who has run three New York City marathons and two half-triathlons, said that she has not had any complaints about her weight-loss program, and denied that she had asked her unit to pay for gym equipment.
She told the Post that she used money from the NYPD’s "reserve fund" and received some old gear from the gym at NYPD headquarters. "I actually kicked in money from my own pocket," she said.
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