HOLLY HILL, FL -- A police recruit died earlier this month after taking a physical fitness test conducted by a local police department.
According to reports, Robert Williams, 24, was given clearance by a physician to take the Holly Hill (FL) Police Department’s physical-agility test. Williams, who was 6-foot-7 and weighed 350 pounds, played college football at Bethune-Cookman University. He was not allowed to play football last year because of an irregular heartbeat, according to a report.
The physical-agility test consisted of two 220-yard sprints, dragging a 150-pound object 100 feet, jumping over obstacles 12 to 24 inches high, climbing over a 40-inch wall, running two 5-foot sprints and moving around a series of pylons, the Orlando Sentinel reported. Williams completed the course in just over four minutes, then collapsed. Several officers and paramedics tried to resuscitate Williams. He was pronounced dead about an hour later at a local hospital.
Williams had applied for a job with the Holly Hill Police Department in October. The department said it will posthumously award Williams an honorary police officer title, the newspaper reported.