For the Journal

CHUBBUCK - Even though a free lunch from Texas Roadhouse was offered to all who could beat her, only four officers from the Chubbuck Police Department managed to do more pushups than the rookie officer.

"Yeah, everybody is surprised I can do as many pushups as I can," said Angela Perez, one of two patrol officers recently added to the force.

After her second son, Lucas, was born in 2007, Perez began working out five days a week. But the former 911 dispatcher said she wasn't doing it to lose weight from having a baby. Instead, she was preparing her body in anticipation of a new career - police officer.

"I had my first son in 2005, but I waited because I knew I wanted another child. Once I had my second son in 2007, I started working out more for the physical testing, just in case an opening came up so I could do what I had to do," Perez said.

Her time in the gym paid off, as Perez did 60 pushups during her physical testing. She is pursuing the department pushup record.

"It's 138, and I did 70 the other day, so I'm working toward it," Perez said.

Although Perez enjoys the physical training, her reasons for leaving the dispatch center for the squad car run deeper than record setting.

"After I had my first son in 2005, I knew that I wanted to change over because there is so much more to do in patrol. You have the Specialty Response Team (similar to a SWAT Team), bike patrol, and I wanted to get into the honor guard," Perez said. "I wanted more of a hands-on job where I was physically helping the community more."

Perez first became involved with dispatch while she was studying graphic design at Idaho State University. Perez originally intended to move out of Idaho to pursue a career designing logos for large corporations after she graduated, but she and her husband, Eric, decided they liked the area to raise a family.

"I had always drawn, and I kind of got into airbrushing in college, but then I met my husband and we started a family," Perez said.

However, Perez admits that initially Eric wasn't all too excited about her decision to move from helping people over the phone to helping them with her own hands.

"I told him what I wanted to do, and at first he was kind of taken aback, but he came around and said, 'If that's what you want to do then go for it.' So I'm lucky in the respect that he supports it and is 100 percent behind me," Perez said.

Perez said she has enjoyed the change of pace so far and would like to stay in patrol for as long as she is able to serve her community.

"I think anyone who gets into law enforcement, EMS or the fire department is always going to say that they did it because they wanted to help people," she said. "And that's what I wanted to do, to get in a profession that helps out the public."