A 40-year-old hiring and promotion policy that helped more women and minorities in the Cincinnati Police Department has been ruled unconstitutional.The policy was born out of the 1981 consent decree, an effort to improve diversity within the ranks of the Cincinnati police department.A federal ruling acknowledges that the consent decree has "positively affected the composition of CPD." But a federal judge ruled Thursday that the race-based and sex-based initiative is no longer needed.The consent decree was signed onto by several parties including the city of Cincinnati, Cincinnati police department and Department of Justice in 1981, at a time women and minorities faced discrimination in hiring and promotion in the department.The consent decree contains race-based and sex-based hiring and promotional goals for each recruit class and sergeant cohort. Under those goals, the department aimed to make each recruit class 34 percent Black and 23 percent female and to fill 25 percent of sergeant openings with black and female candidates.According to the federal ruling, in July of 1980, 9.9 percent of the department was Black and 3.4 percent was female.In January 2021, 28.3 percent of the department was Black and 22.9 percent was female.The police department has 90 days to confer with the Department of Justice and submit modifications to the consent decree."We certainly wish the DOJ did not take this action as the consent decree has been important to our progress," Mayor John Cranley said in a statement. "We are evaluating all options to appeal and will do so if possible. We won't stop pressing our case."The reconsideration of the hiring and promotion rule was prompted by a lawsuit filed by Erik Kohler, a Cincinnati police sergeant."Erik Kohler was promoted, but his promotion was delayed because the city promoted other candidates for sergeant ahead of him simply based on their race, even though they had a lower score on the promotional eligibility list," said his attorney Zachary Gottesman.The federal ruling Thursday does not apply directly to Kohler's case but Gottesman said it is a win for them."Race-based and gender-based promotion and hiring programs can be legal if they meet very strict criteria, and the city has known for years and years that their policy did not comply with those legal requirements," Gottesman said.
A 40-year-old hiring and promotion policy that helped more women and minorities in the Cincinnati Police Department has been ruled unconstitutional.
The policy was born out of the 1981 consent decree, an effort to improve diversity within the ranks of the Cincinnati police department.
A federal ruling acknowledges that the consent decree has "positively affected the composition of CPD." But a federal judge ruled Thursday that the race-based and sex-based initiative is no longer needed.
The consent decree was signed onto by several parties including the city of Cincinnati, Cincinnati police department and Department of Justice in 1981, at a time women and minorities faced discrimination in hiring and promotion in the department.
The consent decree contains race-based and sex-based hiring and promotional goals for each recruit class and sergeant cohort. Under those goals, the department aimed to make each recruit class 34 percent Black and 23 percent female and to fill 25 percent of sergeant openings with black and female candidates.
According to the federal ruling, in July of 1980, 9.9 percent of the department was Black and 3.4 percent was female.
In January 2021, 28.3 percent of the department was Black and 22.9 percent was female.
The police department has 90 days to confer with the Department of Justice and submit modifications to the consent decree.
"We certainly wish the DOJ did not take this action as the consent decree has been important to our progress," Mayor John Cranley said in a statement. "We are evaluating all options to appeal and will do so if possible. We won't stop pressing our case."
The reconsideration of the hiring and promotion rule was prompted by a lawsuit filed by Erik Kohler, a Cincinnati police sergeant.
"Erik Kohler was promoted, but his promotion was delayed because the city promoted other candidates for sergeant ahead of him simply based on their race, even though they had a lower score on the promotional eligibility list," said his attorney Zachary Gottesman.
The federal ruling Thursday does not apply directly to Kohler's case but Gottesman said it is a win for them.
"Race-based and gender-based promotion and hiring programs can be legal if they meet very strict criteria, and the city has known for years and years that their policy did not comply with those legal requirements," Gottesman said.
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