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By KELLI KENNEDY
Associated Press Writer

MIAMI --
Was 76-year-old Deputy Paul Rein too old for duty? It's an unavoidable question in the wake of his death Wednesday. A 40-year-old inmate Rein had been transporting is accused of fatally shooting Rein with his own gun.
Broward sheriff's authorities say Rein's age had nothing to do with his death or whether he had the strength to overtake a prisoner. But in some other police agencies around the country, Rein would have had to retire about two decades ago.
While a mandatory retirement age is allowed for public safety employers under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, implementation is up to each agency. Many police agencies have age limits, including New York and Chicago police and the FBI.
The Fraternal Order of Police successfully lobbied to allow agencies to have mandatory retirement ages in 1996, arguing that the ability to meet the physical demands of law enforcement diminishes with age, said FOP executive director Jim Pasco.
"It's not only harder to defend yourself, but think of the very strenuous nature of, for example, a foot chase," he said.
Federal officers are required to retire at 57, and New York and Chicago police officers at 63. New Jersey State Police must retire at 55 and all law enforcement officers in the state of Iowa must retire at 65.
Pasco said many local agencies don't favor an age limit because it's harder to recruit new officers and expensive to train them. Generous pensions mean departments already lose many officers before they even turn 50.
Representatives of several police agencies around the country reported varied policies in dealing with older police. Many use physical fitness requirements instead of age limits.
"There are different roles that can be filled by individuals of all ages," Broward Sheriff's spokesman Elliot Cohen said. "An older deputy wouldn't be expected to jump fences."
Rein's job was to transport inmates from one secure location to another while inside a secure vehicle with a locked cage.
Before Rein was shot, witnesses saw him let convicted armed robber Michael Mazza out of a medical transport van, which Broward sheriff's authorities say violates policy. Mazza had been in a wheelchair and had a crutch; he had complained of back pain but police say he may have been faking injury.
"Problems arise when that van is stopped while en route from one secure location to another," Cohen said.
Mazza was being transported to trial for another robbery when he escaped, and was captured a few hours later. He was charged with first-degree murder and escape and could face a death sentence if convicted.
Rein became a deputy at age 55 after a career as a letter carrier. He retired from the sheriff's department in 2000 but returned three years later. He had received numerous letters of commendation, and his high-rating evaluations said he used good judgment and maintained a high degree of safety on the job.
"Obviously we're not going to put somebody out there who's not fit to do that job," Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti said at a news conference after the shooting Wednesday. "If you're not fit for duty we're going to move you and either you get up to standards or we find another job for you."
The Los Angeles Police Department has 18 officers over the age of 65 and one over the age of 71. The Philadelphia Police Department has seven officers over 65. The Dallas Police Department estimates they have fewer than 20 over the age of 65. The Orlando Police Department has one officer over 65.
In Florida, there are 85 state correctional officers over the age of 65 and 372 between age 60 and 64, according to the state Department of Corrections. When asked if it could provide how many officers they employed over age 65 Thursday, the Broward Sheriff's Office said it couldn't.
Experts argue that age is not always the best gauge of an officer's qualifications.
"Everybody agrees they want to have the best police and firefighters. The question is whether age is the best proxy for reaching that goal," said Dianna Johnston, assistant legal counsel for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
For a while agencies had mandatory retirement ages, but would "have a 35-year-old who weighed 350 pounds and had never exercised in his life and they didn't screen him out, but they did screen out people who were over age 55," she said.
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Associated Press writers Mitch Stacy in Tampa and Ron Word in Jacksonville also contributed to this report.


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