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CHICAGO (STNG) - Cops who want to shoot an M4 assault weapon will have to flex more than a trigger finger.

The Chicago Police Department recently launched physical fitness tests for cops who have applied to carry the semiautomatic rifle.

Members of gang, gun and tactical teams are the first ones being asked if they want to take the state-approved exam for officers, called the P.O.W.E.R. test.

A male officer between 30 and 40 years old must run 1.5 miles in 14.3 minutes, do 34 sit-ups in a minute, bench press 87 percent of his weight and do a 15-inch sit-and-reach.

Mark Donahue, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, questioned why cops need to pass a fitness test to carry M4s.

"I don't believe it's likely that situations would arise where you'd be running great distances with this weapon," Donahue said. "As long as you're proficient, you should be able to carry it."

Police spokeswoman Monique Bond disagreed.

"If you are grasping for breath, the weapon could waver up and down," she said.

Bond said 85 percent of the officers who've taken the fitness test for the M4s have passed. She would not say how many have taken it.

Officers who fail the test can re-take it as many times as they wish.

The plan is to deploy the weapon over the next one to three years, Bond said. The M4s have not been bought yet, she said.

New York and other big cities, as well as many Chicago suburbs, already have equipped officers with assault weapons. A 2006 police standoff in Humboldt Park with a man armed with an AK-47 demonstrated the need for superior firepower, officials said.