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The U.S. Department of Justice today filed a lawsuit against the city of South Bend, alleging that its hiring practices for the police department discriminated against Blacks and women.
The lawsuit accuses South Bend of using a written examination that discriminates against Black police officer applicants and a physical fitness test that discriminates against women.
The complaint doesn’t allege intentional discrimination but notes that federal law also prohibits employment practices that result in a disparate impact on protected groups.
The DOJ says the discriminatory practices have been used since at least 2016 to the present.
That means they were in effect under former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who served the city until the end of 2019, ran a buoyant but unsuccessful campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020 and is now secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation under President Joe Biden. No one responded immediately to a request for comment from Buttigieg that was left with the DOT’s press office.
A written statement from the current Mayor James Mueller’s administration defended the city’s hiring practices as fair and said it believes the DOJ’s lawsuit ignores the city’s obligations to comply with state law, will cause a delay in the city’s hiring processes and amounts to a waste of taxpayer resources.
The city said its physical fitness test is consistent with that of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, which sets the minimum physical standards for police officers in Indiana.
The written test is administered by an outside firm and is similar to written tests in other Indiana police departments, including the Indiana State Police, the city said.
“The City is committed to recruiting a workforce that represents the community we serve, and the City is proud of the progress we have made over the past several years,” Mayor Mueller said in written remarks.
“Our police department has worked diligently to increase the number of officers from underrepresented groups and to follow the letter and spirit of Indiana and federal law,” he added. “Although the costs of this targeted litigation will be borne by federal and local taxpayers, the City will not voluntarily agree to federal control. We hope that common sense will prevail during the judicial process.”
The South Bend Police Department said that from 2017 to 2023 it hired 15 female officers and 29 officers of color, accounting for 12.6% and 24.4% of all new officers, respectively.
Currently, 9.9% of all officers are females and 11.5% of all officers are black, the highest percentage of black officers since at least 2012, the city said.
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