NYPD Relaxes Candidate Fitness Standards, Paper Says

The NYPD has reportedly relaxed the fitness requirements for candidates amid a record wave of retirements that has the brass desperate for officers to fill the ranks.

The New York Post reports the department replaced a solid faux 6-foot wall inside the Police Academy gym with a chain-link fence that’s easier to climb, according to official recruiting videos posted online.

The move came after a cellphone was used last year to record a series of out-of-shape, wannabe cops laughably trying — and failing — to get up and over the wall.

The NYPD also appears to have scrapped a rule that required recruits to run 1.5 miles in 14:21 or less to graduate from the academy.

In a prepared statement Tuesday, an NYPD spokesperson said, “Our physical fitness requirements in the Police Academy have been reviewed and approved by [the] New York State Division of Criminal Justice Service and the NYPD will continue to abide by any guidelines issued by the state.”