Massachusetts Remains Unique By Paying Police Officers for Fitness

In addition to being the only state in the nation that pays police officers to stand around and do jack shit, Massachusetts is also (ironically enough) the only state that pays police to be fit. According to the Herald, officers who pass a fitness test are given a 2.5% raise. That's like giving secretaries more money for passing typing tests. The expense of offering such raises aside, a fitness test should be a requirement for police officers—not an extra. What shouldn't be a requirement? Overseeing construction sites. Call us crazy, but we think that our officers might have a little more time to stay in shape if they weren't paid so much to stand still all the time. The current bonus system (introduced by Mitt Romney in 2002) ends December 31. Will the police fatten up as a result, or will Massachusetts continue its backward ways? Maybe our officers just need some real crimes to deal with. You know, like Meatwad.