Date: Fri Sep 10 14:05:29 1999 From: murphy@MYBLUEHEAVEN.COM (Phil Murphy) Subject: Without further comment... To: AZRKBA@asu.edu
By BRIGITTE GREENBERG Associated Press Writer
NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) - A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by a man who was deemed too smart to be a police officer.
U.S. District Judge Peter C. Dorsey said the New London Police Department's rejection of Robert Jordan because he scored too high on an intelligence test did not violate his rights.
The city's rationale for the long-standing practice is that candidates who score too high could soon get bored with police work and quit after undergoing costly academy training.
In the ruling released Tuesday, the judge said there is no evidence that a high score is in any way related to job satisfaction, performance or turnover.
But he said, "The question is not whether a rational basis has been shown for the policy chosen by defendants. Plaintiff may have been disqualified unwisely, but he was not denied equal protection.''
Jordan, 48, has a bachelor's degree in literature and is now a state corrections officer.
In 1996, he scored a 33, the equivalent of an IQ of 125. The average score nationally for police officers, as well as office workers, bank tellers and salespeople, is 21 to 22, the equivalent of an IQ of 104.
Police in New London, Connecticut population 27,000, interviewed only those candidates who scored 20 to 27.
AP-CS-09-08-99 1734EDT