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The DOJ is targeting police and fire departments with lawsuits, accusing them of discriminating against black and female applicants.

From Daily Caller. A recent string of lawsuits by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against police and fire departments could serve as a blueprint for erasing physical and mental standards in the name of equity.

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The DOJ settled two lawsuits and filed a third against local departments in October accusing them of discrimination after black applicants disproportionately failed to pass cognitive written tests and female applicants struggled to pass physical tests. …

The three lawsuits, all filed within weeks of each other, could be just the start as a Harris administration would accelerate the process ā€œ10x,ā€ one expert told the Daily Caller.

Under an early OctoberĀ settlement, Marylandā€™s State Police (MDSP) will pay previously denied applicants over $2.75 millionĀ in backpayĀ after the DOJ launched a probe into ā€œracially discriminatory hiring and promotion practices.ā€

The DOJ complaint alleges MDSPā€™s use of a written test called the Police Officer Selection Test (POST) ā€œdisproportionately excluded African-American applicantsā€ and that its use of the Functional Fitness Assessment Test (FFAT) ā€œdisproportionately excluded female applicants.ā€

Of the twelve academy classes that MDSP has graduated since 2017, 91% of their white applicants passed the POST compared to only 71 percent of black applicants, according to the DOJ. …

Additionally, the FFAT, which consists of push-up and sit-up tests, a 1.5 mile run and a flexibility test, saw a markedly lower pass rate for female applicants. Men passed at an 81 percent clip while women only passed 51 percent of the time since 2017, according to the DOJ.

The tests, the complaint argues, ā€œare not job related or consistent with business necessity.ā€

Law enforcement officers, however, disagreed.

ā€œItā€™s important that they have to catch bad guys. Itā€™s important that theyā€™re in good shape, that they have standards,ā€ Klickitat County, Washington, Sheriff Bob Songer told the Daily Caller. …

Less than a week after Marylandā€™s settlement, Durham Fire Department also settled with the DOJ over a similar claim. The DOJ alleged ā€œthat the Cityā€™s fire department screens applicants with a written test that discriminates against Black candidates.ā€

Durhamā€™s written test, the Comprehensive Examination Battery (CEB), also ā€œdisproportionately excluded African-American applicants from employment,ā€ according to theĀ DOJĀ complaint.

As a result, Durham will issue $980,000 in backpay to previously denied applicants and use a new test. …

If Maryland and Durhamā€™s tests are considered racist and sexist, hundreds of other departments across the country could find themselves exposed by the same standard.

Police departments nationwide have used the POST test named in the Maryland State Police lawsuit. Departments in states ranging fromĀ CaliforniaĀ toĀ TennesseeĀ have posted practice POST tests online for incoming applicants to study with. Washington, D.C.ā€™s Capitol Police appear toĀ still use the test, even uploading aĀ practice POST testĀ on their website as recently as 2022.

The DOJā€™s lawsuits allege the use of the tests violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act ā€” specifically a standard known as ā€œdisparate impact.ā€

Title VII prohibits employers from engaging in any explicit discrimination. But it also bars employers from hiring practices ā€œthat seem neutral but have the effect of discriminating against people because of their race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity), or national origin.ā€

In other words,Ā disparate impactĀ is when different groups have different outcomes when being given the same test. Proponents argue the inequal outcomes are evidence of bias even if everyone is taking the same test.

Jeremy Carl, a Senior Fellow at the Claremont Institute and author of ā€œThe Unprotected Classā€ calls disparate impact ā€œan absurd doctrine.ā€ …

While outfits like Durham and Maryland caved, one city is fighting back.

In Indiana, after the South Bend Police Department learned of the DOJā€™s impending lawsuit (through the DOJā€™s press release), they vowed to ā€œvigorously defendā€ against the pending action.

ā€œThe South Bend Police Department believes its screening process fairly measures a candidateā€™s ability to perform the job,ā€ SBPD wrote in an Oct. 11 Facebook post. ā€œLike every other city in Indiana, South Bend must ensure its officers meet certain minimum criteria.ā€ …

Share your prayers for our police and fire departments below.

(Excerpt from Daily Caller. Photo Credit: Bruce Emmerling from Pixabay)

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Kay
October 28, 2024

Dear Lord Almighty God, you alone have given life to our cities and if we will pray you have promised to give us good rulers good justice to love, mercy and justice. We need good officers and fire department that are able to do the work before them therefore, I come against the political scheming, and I announced the evil that would try to hurt, your gift of life and liberty and we are not created equal to one another or you, but we are created with your gifts and you make us strong there. Remember fire and policeman and women for your namesake and put the peace and prosperity of the land we pray in Jesus Christ , the name that you have given all authority and power that you raised from the dead and has given us his name we put him on and wear him proudly. Thank you for listening Lord thank you for protecting. Thank you for seeing all and being all we have made up amen.

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