The Virginian-Pilot
©
CHESAPEAKE
Two Chesapeake police organizations on Wednesday threatened to sue the city if it voids recent test results that would propel 30 men - none of them black - toward the ranks of sergeant and lieutenant.
Those men were the top scorers among 144 officers who took exams earlier this month to qualify for the promotions. The city became concerned because the group had so little gender and ethnic diversity, and because some of those taking the lieutenant test were given extra time to complete it. On Tuesday, the city opted to hire a consultant to review the process.
Michael Imprevento, an attorney for Chesapeake's Fraternal Order of Police and the Coalition of Police, called any interruption in the process unlawful.
"We believe that the initial test was fair and created a level playing field for all participants," he said. "If the city delays action or invalidates the procedures, we will seek legal relief. Too much is at stake for too many good people."
Thirty-six police officers took the exam for lieutenant earlier this month; none of the nine women and blacks who tested was among the top tier.
Of the 108 who took the test for sergeant, none of the 23 blacks and women scored high enough to move forward.
"That brought up questions with our human resources department," said Mark Cox, Chesapeake public communications director.
There were also concerns about a 20-minute extension given to some of those taking the test for lieutenant, the city said.
And some sergeant applicants said they were given the wrong resource materials for study.
The city initially voided the test results. City Manager William Harrell said the decision was made to hire a consultant after it was determined that no incorrect materials were handed out after the official resource lists were published July 1.
It is unclear how much the review will cost, but Harrell said he hopes it is far less than the $50,000 the city pays a consultant annually to administer tests and conduct job interviews, among other duties.
"We think that compromise is one that protects the city and those that are part of the process," Harrell said.
Imprevento disagreed.
"That's scant comfort to scores of qualified, hardworking people who are now in limbo," he said. "It further compounds the negative impact on morale that this whole issue has created. All of these officers stand together, and they all consider themselves blue."
The city has used the same promotion process now in question for "several years," Cox said. No issues were raised until this month.
Chesapeake settled a racial discrimination lawsuit from the U.S. Justice Department last year alleging that a math test unfairly disqualified black and Hispanic officer applicants.
"This test involved knowledge of policies and procedures necessary to become a supervisor," Imprevento said of the promotion exams. "The same policies and procedures are available for all to review as police officers.
"It is my belief that any invalidation of these results would be based strictly on race.... The test was race-neutral."
Harrell said he hopes the review will validate the exams, "but it is a necessary legal step in our view that we verify the fact that the process is fair for all involved."
Kristin Davis, (757) 222-5208, kristin.davis@pilotonline.com
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Prejudice
Nice to see that the public service in the U.S. is as sexist and racist against white men as that in Canada.
Here, for example, is the text that accompanies every job posting for the Canadian government: "The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled, diverse workforce reflective of Canadian society. As a result, it promotes employment equity and encourages candidates to indicate voluntarily on their application if they are a woman, an Aboriginal person, a person with a disability or a member of a visible minority group."
The only group of people not on this list, of course, is white men.
There's nothing fair or just about a system that excludes you from hiring because of your gender or your color.
This news story is just another example of how ridiculous it's become.
By the way, Men's Rights Page: http://www.mens-links.net/showlinks.asp?category=1
Hey Don
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. The promotional process is certainly not entirely objective and it can be (is?) manipulated to promote the desired candidates. The three person oral panal, written and practical excersises, and Chiefs board are completely subjective and open to opinion by the evaluators. They may not like the way you look, write speak, etc. and base their scores on such subjective things. The fact that there are "internal" and "external" lists allows for manipulation of who is promoted and when; i.e. if they promote one person at a time from the list the persons promoted may not have been promoted if they did multiple promotions at the same time, and vice versa. This happens because of the 2 lists. The only way to have a completely fair process is to follow the military way and base it solely on the exam results and time in service.
Misrepresentation
"sickandtired" whines about the inequities in Portsmouth but slants the facts. Go figure. He mentions that minorities score high enough to make the eligibility list for promotion. If you PASS the test, you are eligible. Then you go through the assessment. He fails to mention that we promote from the TOP of the list and it doesn't matter what race you are. Our process is done completely anonymously with the exception of a diverse panel and a one on one interview with the Chief, who during this time period was a black male. He mentions the command staff being all white males. Right now that consists of 5 people! You would have thought it was 100 the way it was portrayed. Additionally, our black police chief was let go because he was incompetant and the FOP handed him a no confidence vote. Our other highest ranking black male is in prison now for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Quit whining and go study!
Reverse Discrimination
No one would be having this discussion and there would be no news story had this been reversed.. Guaranteed.
sickantired
Comparing your comment to my comment....you are comparing apples to oranges. You are saying that all candidates meeting the MINIMUM requirements should be treated equally except for minorities who should get special treatment. I am saying that those who scored the highest should be promoted regardless of gender, race, etc. I do not know how the scores are tallied, but how do you explain to caucasion candidate "A" who scored a 98 that he/she is passed over for minority candidate "B" who scored a 91? "Sorry 'A'...good score but you are too pasty"? If candidate "A" was the minority and "B" the caucasion, then "A" gets the promotion no matter what. Where is the incentive for the caucasion candidate if he/she can not get promoted regardless of performance? Unless there is fraud involved, the highest scoring candidate should be promoted regardless of gender, race etc.
To bulldog and hubert
FYI: The ENTIRE command staff of the Portsmouth Police Department is made up of white males. And they are the ones who actually run the department. There are no minorities above the rank of SGT (and only a handfull of those.) I am not in favor of changing tests or making it easier to get promoted, but I do think that there is something wrong when folks make the cut but still cannot get the promotions they have earned. As far as the Chief, Mayor, and City Manager positions; you are comparing apples to oranges. The Mayor is elected, the CM is appointed by council, and the Chief is appointed by the CM. None of which have much influence over the "good 'ol boy" network of day to day city operations. I just think that it's a shame when qualified candidates are eligable for promotion, but it doesn't happen due to unseen forces (network maybe?) at work.
The Legal Definition
"(1) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for a respondent, in connection with the selection or referral of applicants or candidates for employment or promotion, to adjust the scores of, use different cutoff scores for, or otherwise alter the results of, employment related tests on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin."
This is a quote from section 106 of the Civil Rights Act. My question to the city is if race or sex can not be used in this manner how can you legally justify identifying the race and sex of those who made the cut?
I urge anyone who is as outraged about this as I to write, call, or e-mail the members of the Chesapeake City Council and voice those concerns. This will continue until we, as those who council must answer to, stand up and tell them THIS IS WRONG!
A comment for sickandtired and others with similar views
If your child must get life-saving surgery, will you seek a surgeon that just "passed" the required exams and was advanced due to being African-American or would you prefer to have a surgeon that graduated in the top of her/his class? Similarly, If your child's life is endangered at the hands of a criminal, would you prefer to have someone making life-saving or life-loss decisions who just "passed" the exam and was advanced due to being African-American or would you want the most knowlegeable officer to be in charge? Personally, I do not care if the surgeon/police officer is pink, green, purple or whatever. I only want the best!!
Smoke screen by the city
This is not about the minority or female officers being upset about the test results. None of the officers complained about the test. This is about the three leaders involved being disappointed with the race and gender of the finalists. The city manager, the director of human resources and the police chief are all of the same race and have made it overly apparent that they want the majority of those promoted to be minorities. The three of them changed the rules when they didn't like the finalists. This is the same type of test that has always been giving. Thousands have been spent to validate the test prior to administering it. They made a mistake by allowing their reverse discrimination to be so apparent and now have tried to use the test possibly being prejudiced as a smoke screen. The test was not prejudiced. Now they are going to be sued by the white officers they openly discriminated against. The city council needs to step up and be the only ones to do the right thing! They need to replace the city manager, director of HR and the police chief. Discrimination is against the law and should not be tolerated by anyone!
The test is absolutely racist!
All of you who claim that the police promotion test was non-racist need to brush up on your own smarts. The proof of the test's racism is so blatantly obvious that a first grader could see it. Those who doubt that fact are either not very intelligent, or are living in racist denial. Allow me to spell it out for you.
The test was given to every racial group on WHITE paper! No wonder only white people passed it!
Now, aren’t you all ashamed of yourselves for not figuring that out on your own?