What It Takes To Join The Cherry Hill Police Department

By Alexandria Hoff

CHERRY HILL, N.J., (CBS) -- There are few things that can unnerve a police officer, but one of them certainly is the chance of not becoming one.

"I always liked superheroes growing up," said Zachary Dlabik," "I've always wanted to save people and I think this is a good avenue to do it."

The Cherry Hill Police Officer hopefuls that turned out Saturday are among 272 remaining candidates for positions, down from 2,400 who requested applications.

They are the ones who passed the written exam (taken by 800) and now must complete a quarter-mile obstacle course in under two minutes. If they do not they will be permanently removed from the program.

"It replicates a short foot pursuit so its job specific to gauge a person's ability to perform the functions of a police officer," said Cherry Hill Police Chief Capt. William Monaghan.

So, in order to perform the functions of reporter, CBS 3's Alexandria Hoff took a stab at the 12 lane course that involved straight sprints, two floor jumps, two fence climbs, and a set of stairs.

"It was a lot harder than I thought it would be," added Dlabik after passing the course under the required two minutes.

"It was a little harder than I thought but I believe if you trained right it was exactly what you wanted it to be," said Michael Staton, another application who also cleared the benchmark finishing the course just over 1:30.

Alex, who like many who might watch the trail from raised bleachers, realized that her assumptions about the ease of the test were very wrong. By the time she realized she may be in over her head; it was too late.

As she sprinted the course, it proved so intense that the GoPro camera that was strapped to her chest actually flew off. By the time she reached the stair climb portion at the courses mid-way point, her legs giving way seemed like a real possibility.

But – somehow – she was able to stagger past the finish line with just five seconds to spare. If you ask her she would call the finish a "miracle" and once she caught her breath enough to speak, talked to officers about how their job typically is just beginning once a real-life chase is over.

For the officer-hopefuls who passed the test (the department expects about 250 of the 272 to pass) they still have interviews and background checks to pass before they can make it to the Academy.