The old Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour used to have a recurring skit called “Detective Fat.” It was based on the popular show, “Cannon,” starring heavy-set actor William Conrad.

Tony Curtis played Detective Fat in the skits, in which everyone wore “fat suits” that made them look like sumo wrestlers. I think Dinah Shore once played in one of these skits. All the plays on words were food-related (“We’re in a real jam,” “We’re really in a pickle,” etc.) At the mention of a food word all the actors would rub their hands together and say, “Pickle!. Mmmmmmm!” or “Jam! Mmmmmmm!”

This 1970s memory was brought to mind today by this story:

The Nebraska Court of Appeals, in an opinion released Tuesday, reversed the Bellevue Civil Service Commission’s decision upholding the termination of Christopher D. Parent.

Parent, 52, had been a member of the Police Department for more than 25 years, mostly as a detective, but had been reassigned to road patrol. His firing stemmed from his performance during an Aug. 28 combat shooting exercise, which prompted fellow officers to report him to the command staff.

Parent was fired in 2007, after an internal investigation determined that he had not maintained a “high level of physical, mental and emotional conditioning.”

Bellevue Police Lt. Mark Elbert has said Parent, whose 2005-issued Nebraska driver’s license listed him at 5-foot-9 and 300 pounds, was fired under a policy that requires officers to be physically fit.

The court’s opinion states that under the Bellevue Police Department policy used to justify Parent’s firing, Parent satisfied the only objective standard imposed.

Here’s his photo. You be the judge.