Behind the Badge
“Hit the wall” is a phrase commonly used by runners when they bonk at around mile 20 of a marathon.
“Getting over the wall” is a dreaded challenge for many aspiring police officers during physical agility testing.
Officer Kristen Burney, of the Orange PD, is here to help.
In the video below, Burney, a fitness enthusiast and former CrossFit instructor, offers several tips on how to get over two 6-foot-tall walls: one concrete, one with a chain-link covering.
Isabella Becerra leaps over a 6-foot chain link fence during a qualifying run for the Orange PD. The brick wall that also needs to be scaled is to the left.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
The Orange PD recently had the walls installed at Grijalva Park for PD applicants. Scaling both walls successfully is one of the physical agility tests.
Female applicants typically have a harder time than males getting over the walls because, usually, they are shorter and do not have as much upper-body strength as male applicants, Burney says.
Burney, hired by the OPD as a cadet in May 2015 and a sworn officer since 2016, works patrol.
Shaven Senadeera climbs over a recently built 6-foot chain link fence that sits next to a brick wall that is also part of the Orange PD qualifying test.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
She earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science at Wichita State University and a master’s degree in sports medicine and injury studies at Cal State Long Beach.
Burney also played Division 1 ice hockey for a year as an undergraduate at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), a private university in upstate New York.
People competing for an Orange PD-sponsored spot in an upcoming academy class arrive in the early-morning hours at Grajalva Park in Orange.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
“I was a goalie – the crazy one who stands in front of pucks,” says Burney, who at the OPD also serves as an honor guard and an explorer advisor. She also volunteers at the Criminal Justice Center at Golden West College, and helps out during the OPD’s testing processes.
A native of the Inland Empire, Burney says she wants to be a motor officer someday and seek promotion to corporal and detective.
Recruit hopefuls line up in the early morning at Grajalva Park to compete for an Orange PD- sponsored spot in an upcoming academy class.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
“I like the vibe, I like the city,” Burney says of Orange. “We’re not as super busy as other larger cities in Orange County, so we can be proactive.”
OK, let’s get over that wall:
Recruit hopefuls get ready to compete.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Regulation-size solid and chain link walls at Grajalva Park in Orange are used for police academy qualifying tests and are available for anyone to practice on.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Applicants are timed as they finish a 500-yard qualifying run at Grajalva Park.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Daniel Samarin of Orange leaps over a 6-foot brick wall in Grajalva Park that is part of the Orange PD qualifying test for a sponsored spot in the police academy.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Recruit hopefuls are timed as they start a 500-yard run at Grajalva Park.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Isabella Becerra drags a 165-pound dummy during an OPD qualifying competition at Grajalva Park.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
A recruit hopeful makes his way over the chain link wall at Grajalva Park.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Recruit hopefuls are timed as they start a 500-yard run at Grajalva Park.
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
Photo by Steven Georges/Behind the Badge OC
