Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rules And Regulations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission declines to adopt exemption for current West Virginia-certified officers; rescinds redundant addendums
Summary
Staff presented a request from the sheriff's office to exempt active, currently certified West Virginia officers from the open-entry physical agility test; commissioners debated fairness and closed the item without changing the rule. The commission also voted to rescind two redundant addendums that had been incorporated into a recent rewrite.
Mister Alden briefed commissioners on a request that the commission amend its rules to exempt active, currently certified West Virginia law-enforcement officers from the commissions open-entry physical agility test. He said the sheriffs office (via Chief T.A. Young) had asked for the change because certified officers are not required to attend the West Virginia State Police Basic Academy and "requiring those applicants to complete the commission's physical agility test serves no practical purpose," according to the staff summary.
Commissioners debated the change. The Chair and several commissioners said the requested exemption would undermine fairness and consistency for applicants who are certified in other states, former officers, veterans or applicants with comparable experience and that the exemption could give current certified applicants an easier path than other candidates. One commissioner said the test is intended both to verify basic fitness and to ensure academy-bound candidates meet physical standards. No motion to adopt the exemption was made and the item was closed with no change to the current policy, which continues to require completion of the physical agility test for open-entry applicants.
Separately, Mister Alden recommended formally rescinding addendums RR202603 and RR202604 because their provisions were incorporated and superseded by addendum RR202605, which rewrote Article 2 (Employment). The commission voted to rescind those two addendums by voice vote; staff said the action was administrative and would not change any substantive provisions currently in the rules as posted.
