--- description: Retired NBA star and very tall man-about-town Shaquille O’Neal has applied to be a reserve police officer in Doral, Fla. title: Shaquille O’Neal applies to join reserve police force in Florida image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd056dcfbbd3fea7b/6986a22b1eebf7f305372853/shaquille-oneal.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Basketball](/tag/basketball/) ## Basketball Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Shaquille O’Neal Applies to Join Reserve Police Force in Florida by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/time-staff/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 5, 2014 5:17 AM CUT  Television personality and former professional basketball player Shaquille O'Neal leaves the Sirius XM Studios in New York City on Aug. 11, 2014. Television personality and former professional basketball player Shaquille O'Neal leaves the Sirius XM Studios in New York City on Aug. 11, 2014.Ray Tamarra—GC Images/Getty Images by [Elizabeth Barber](/author/time-staff/) ## Elizabeth Barber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 5, 2014 5:17 AM CUT Retired NBA star and very tall man-about-town Shaquille O’Neal has applied to be a reserve police officer in Doral, Fla. O’Neal, who is 7 ft. 1 in., will now have to clear a background check, as well as pass Florida’s officer-certification exam, before [joining the department](http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/09/04/4327978/shaq-wants-to-attack-crime-in.html "undefined") in Doral, about 13 miles west of Miami. The test will assess the three-time All-Star Game MVP’s physical and psychological fitness, city spokeswoman Christina Baguer told the Miami _Herald_. The doorframe-filling O’Neal will “have to do everything else to be certified by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, just like any of our other officers, reserve or not reserve,” said Baguer. The tests are unlikely to pose a problem, even though “Manny Shaq-iaou” once told the New York _Times_ that “I don’t need to [work out](http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/22/30-seconds-with-shaquille-oneal-off-the-court-but-still-going-at-full-speed/?ref=todayspaper "undefined").” In fact, the 42-year-old — who has played for the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and L.A. Lakers, among others — has passed the exam before, doing a stint as a reserve police officer in Miami Beach. O’Neal wrote on his previous August 2004 [application](http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2011-09-22/news/shaquille-o-neal-wages-war-against-shawn-darling-an-ex-con-computer-geek "undefined") that his special skills included “laptop computer, binnochulars, master of surveillance.” He also denied having any “savings or checking accounts, any investments, or an automobile,” according to a 2011 feature in the Miami _New Times_. In 2011, O’Neal also told the New York _Times_ that he was considering a formal police career and “[running for undersheriff](http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2011/10/shaquille%5Foneal%5Fnoted%5Fmiscrean.php "undefined") in Lake County, Fla.” That is until local journalists pointed out that the job is appointed, not elected. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3271974/shaquille-oneal-reserve-police-force-florida/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3271974/shaquille-oneal-reserve-police-force-florida/"},"headline":"Shaquille O’Neal Applies to Join Reserve Police Force in Florida","datePublished":"2014-09-05T05:17:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:01:32.496Z","description":"Would-be criminals, prepare for the Shaq Attack","url":"https://time.com/3271974/shaquille-oneal-reserve-police-force-florida/","keywords":["Basketball","Athletes","celebrities","Florida","NBA","Miami Heat"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd056dcfbbd3fea7b/6986a22b1eebf7f305372853/shaquille-oneal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elizabeth Barber"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd056dcfbbd3fea7b/6986a22b1eebf7f305372853/shaquille-oneal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Shaquille O'Neal","caption":"Shaquille O'Neal","creditText":"Ray Tamarra—GC Images/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/basketball/","name":"Basketball"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3271974/shaquille-oneal-reserve-police-force-florida/","name":"Shaquille O’Neal Applies to Join Reserve Police Force in Florida"}}]}] ```