Billy Bolin will be sworn in as the new Henderson Police Department chief at the July 9 city commission meeting.
On March 19, the Henderson City Commission approved Bolin’s appointment to be the next police chief, but the appointment was dependent upon meeting all the requirements for the Peace Officer Professional Standards certification.
On Wednesday, Bolin did just that.
Bolin had 90 days to meet the POPS standards, and during that time, he acted as a police consultant while former Deputy Chief Bob Shoultz was acting as the interim chief.
Bolin retired from the Evansville Police Department early in the year after serving the previous 12 years as the chief there.
The testing Bolin completed Wednesday all dealt with the physical aspects of POPS certification. Bolin said it occurred at the Henderson County High School track and quite a few HPD officers were there to cheer him on.
“It was nice to have the support of so many out there,” he said.
Bolin said a tester is required to reach 50 points total for the five parts of the physical piece of the POPS. Meeting the listed standards earns a tester 10 points. Beating the standards earns a tester 10 ½ or 11 points. Falling just below the standards earns a tester 9 or 9 ½ points. (To see the physical exam test standards, click here.)
The physical tests with standards are:
- Bench press 64% of body weight
- Complete 18 sit-ups within one minute
- Finish a 300-meter run in 65 seconds
- Perform 20 push-ups
- Run 1.5 miles within 17 minutes and 12 seconds
Bolin ran the 1 ½ miles in 16 minutes, 43 seconds; did 26 push-ups; and easily made the bench press weight, he said.
He earned 9 points for 300-meter run with a time of 68 seconds and 9 ½ points for sit-ups with 16, he said.
Now that the POPS certification is out of the way, Bolin is set to take over as chief. Shoultz will move back into his previous role of deputy chief, Bolin said.
He said he didn’t expect any major changes as he moves into the chief position but there will be small changes as he gets settled, as with new leadership in any organization.
He said Henderson has a great department.
“I just want to keep us moving in the right direction,” he said.
Below is the list of the rest of the requirements of the POPS certification:
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Be at least 21 years old
- Have obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent
- Possess a valid driver’s license
- Submit fingerprints for a criminal background check
- Not be convicted of a felony offense
- Not be prohibited by federal or state law from possessing a firearm
- Have read the Code of Ethics
- Not have received a dishonorable discharge or general discharge under other than honorable conditions
- Not have had a certification as a peace officer permanently revoked in another state
- Have a background investigation
- Have a medical examination
- Be interviewed by their potential agency’s executive
- Take a written suitability screener
- Pass a drug-screen test
- Take a polygraph examination