Modesto police board hears how officers are hired. It takes physical & emotional strength
Only one in about 20 applicants ends up working for the Modesto Police Department.
Lt. Joe Bottoms detailed the process at the Thursday, Oct. 19, meeting of the Community Police Review Board.
It starts with a physical agility test, including running, push-ups and other feats of strength. Applicants who ace it could later be done in by the background check, or by the psychologist who contracts with the department.
One of the last steps is an interview with Chief Brandon Gillespie, who said he tries to get a sense of the person’s values. “I want quality over quantity,” he said. “I’d rather have vacancies in my police department than hire the wrong people.”
The City Council appointed the board in May amid tensions over shootings by officers and other concerns. The nine volunteers advise a Los Angeles-area law firm hired to audit how the department follows its own policies.
The board’s monthly meetings have been mostly about the basics of law enforcement. Members have heard how officer-involved shootings and complaints about the police are handled. Managers detailed how MPD has started teaming with mental health clinicians and other partners on some calls.
The department has officer vacancies all the time, about 20 at the moment, Bottoms said. Funding has grown thanks to the new 1% sales tax, but the hiring process still takes time.
The lieutenant said MPD seeks people who can resolve conflicts among people they encounter, without racial or other biases. They must be able to write clearly, because their reports could underpin prosecutors’ decisions.
The background check involves contacts with family, neighbors, former employers and other people connected with the applicant.
The board also heard Thursday from Jocelyn Roland, a Modesto-based psychologist who contracts with about 70 police agencies. She said she assesses traits such as impulse control, teamwork, safety, ethics, substance use and stress tolerance.
“The job that I have is critical to the health of this city, this state,” Roland said. She also is available to current officers dealing with the mental pressures of police work.
Board member Kenneth Bryant, a retired Modesto Fire Department battalion chief, said public safety workers have come to acknowledge the mental burdens.
Gillespie said MPD keeps this in mind in briefings that follow “critical incidents.” One of them was the Oct. 14 stabbing death of 4-year-old Sana Akram. Her mother, Mina Nazari, is charged with her murder.
MPD’s physical test includes doing 15 push-ups and 20 sit-ups within separate 60-second periods. Applicants also must run 500 yards within two minutes and complete a 99-yard obstacle course in 25 seconds. They must hop 6-foot walls and fences and drag a 165-pound dummy across 32 feet in 20 seconds.
Interested people can apply at www.modestogov.com.
