It Was Me Who Got Beat

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A young female police officer, whom I'll call Judy, was on patrol in Los Angeles. It was March 3, 1991, and Judy's third day on the street with her Trainer after graduating from the academy. Judy and her partner responded to an Officer Needs Help call (the Department's highest priority call) and subsequently stood by and watched the beating of Rodney King. Remember him?

LAPD policy, at that time, and as it is today, requires a new police officer to complete six months of academy training, then an additional 12 months of field training before becoming a permanent officer. But, Judy was taken from the streets the day following the beating, and was assigned to work the desk in the Station where I worked until the conclusion of the trial against the officers, nearly two years later. Coincidental, Judy was the State's star witness and her testimony helped send two of the officers to prison, and a third to the unemployment line.

I lost track of Judy, until the Spring of 1995. It was then that I competed for a promotional assignment to Detective. Judy, having only three years seniority, never having completed her formal required training, and with only a few months working some bicycle patrol at Venice Beach, was awarded the position. Now I wondered, how could someone with her limited background be selected over a 20 year veteran, having years of training officer experience, traffic, gangs, narcotics, and even an undercover detective assignment of for 5 years? Was it a reward for her testimony? But I let it go, until....

A week later, I was summoned to meet with one of the three Board members that conducted the promotional interview. I had never met the guy before the interview and he was of significant rank within the LAPD. He explained that he was troubled over Judy's selection and showed me the original score cards of the three Board members. Each member scored me 100% and recommended that the Chief promote me. Of the 30 or so candidates for the job, none had scores of 85% or higher, and Judy's score was 77.5%, the lowest of all. He told me that he would retain that evidence and would testify in my behalf if it went further.

Well, after thinking about things, and obtaining legal advice, I filed suit in Federal Court alleging reverse discrimination. During the investigative stage mandated by the court, a recent Federal Court Ruling was uncovered from a similar case. In that case, the Court ruled that to support a discrimination charge, an "Unqualified" candidate had to be selected over a "Qualified" one. Since each one of the candidates had scores of 70% or above, all were qualified. Therefore, the court ruled that there was no discrimination in my case, and it was dismissed.

As a side note, Judy, after giving her new job a try, surrendered it and went back to the bike detail. And I obtained my promotion on my next attempt.

What is now referred to as Affirmative Action actually got it's roots in Los Angeles. And I've always supported the intent of the law, even though I knew it would never benefit me. In many instances I can see the positive results that has been accomplished. But over the years, the law has been changed, and it might be time to go.

In the days following, I intend to discuss this Affirmative Action further, only because it is a concern of the upcoming Senate confirmation to the Supreme Court. I'll warn you in advance that I will be frank, but I'll speak only about incidents that I know of first hand. Some of you will likely be offended because it is a sensitive subject, especially if you have been touched by it directly. Feel free to comment appropriately if you want, or not read my blog if you choose.

Or wait for the next post from the Thought Dock.
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