(NaturalNews) It has become the new American method of getting out of something that you don't want to do: Go to court and have a judge side with you, even if it's a lousy thing to do to your community and, ultimately, to yourself.

That's what a group of female Colorado Springs police officers who wanted to opt out of their department's mandatory physical fitness testing did, and it worked – no more testing, meaning they are free to be as fat and unfit as they want, even to the detriment of their community and even if doing so will put them at risk of being physically injured or even killed by a stronger, more fit criminal.

"I think it's a mistake," Mary Jo Piccin told CBS4's Tom Mustin. "I think the police need to be able to chase down them criminals."

"I think it's wrong," she added.

The Daily Caller further reported that the dozen female officers sued their department, claiming that the required physical testing was somehow discriminatory. Of course, that was after they failed their annual tests. And now, following a ruling by a U.S. District Court, the women, all of whom are at least 40 years old, must be reinstated pending the final outcome of their case.

"I think the motivation in part is to get rid of these older women officers," the women's attorney, Ian Kalmanowitz, told KKTV News.

For his part, Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey told CBS Denver that while he disagreed with the federal court's decision, he would nonetheless abide by it.

"I very firmly stand behind physical fitness tests for our officers," Carey said. "I think what I'm asking them to do is fair and my hope is a federal judge also agrees with this."

'It's not fair!'

The department implemented new standards for physical fitness tests in late 2014. The new standards required officers to do 52 pushups in two minutes, 45 sit-ups in two minutes and two running tests – testing that is similar to what military personnel are annually required to take and pass in order to be eligible for retention within the ranks and promotion, among other benefits.

If an officer failed the Colorado Springs fitness test, the department would confiscate their uniforms and assign them to a desk job until such time as they were able to pass the test. They would be given six months to get in better shape and retest; a second failure would result in their termination from the department.

The DC reported that 25 of the 628 officers who took the test failed, including the 12 women who filed a lawsuit.

'I continue to believe in the PAT'

"The punitive consequences of failing to pass the [Physical Abilities Test] were unrelated to the announced purposes for administering the test and did not serve any important governmental objective," the legal complaint read.

"These officers have dedicated their lives to the police department, to the citizens of this community, and they've had that taken away from them," Kalmanowitz told KKTV News. "Not being allowed to wear a uniform, not being allowed to wear a badge, do their job."

In a statement, Carey laid out the importance of taking and passing a physical fitness test.

"For the past several years, CSPD has been involved in an extensive project to evaluate whether to adopt fitness standards for its sworn officers, validate what minimum fitness standards were job related, and develop and implement a Physical Abilities Test (PAT) that had been carefully formulated," he wrote. "CSPD was guided in this process by a consultant with expertise specific to physical abilities testing of police officers. To ensure officer success, CSPD called upon many resources in our community, including local healthcare and sports facilities, to provide personal training sessions and design exercise plans.

"As most of you are likely aware, the City is presently defending a federal lawsuit challenging the PAT. I continue to believe that mandatory physical fitness testing is the right thing to do for our community and our officers, and is a fair and appropriate minimum qualification to expect of those selected to protect and defend," Carey said.

Sources:

DailyCaller.com

Denver.CBSLocal.com

KKTV.com