PA Recruit Appealing His Dismissal David B. Caruso, Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- William Brophy was 26 the first time he pinned on a policeman’s badge a half-century ago. He was 36 when he took a job as a G-man for the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover.
At age 75, after a lifetime in law enforcement, Brophy still wants to walk a beat.
``I tried retirement for a year. It was terrible. It was so boring,’' Brophy said. ``I have to fill the time somehow. How many books can you read?’'
So last autumn, at age 74, he filled out a job application at his neighborhood precinct station, passed a civil service exam and a physical, and was on his way to being a rookie again.
``It was thrilling,’' Brophy said. ``I wanted to go back to what I did when I was a younger man. I wanted to go back to my alma mater.’'
But on June 6, Brophy lost his bid to become the department’s oldest rookie when, just weeks short of graduating from Philadelphia’s police academy, he was dismissed for failing to complete a 1 1/2-mile foot race in the required time.
He has since hired a lawyer and is appealing his dismissal to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying he was a victim of age discrimination. In his appeal, Brophy said the department’s foot race time limit should be higher for a candidate in his 70s than a candidate in his 60s.
``I think I have a lot to bring to the force,’' he said. ``Give me a stick. Put me on the street on one of these corners where they are trying to break up the drug gangs. I’ll show you that I can still do the job.’'
Brophy first joined the Philadelphia force in 1953, rising to the rank of sergeant before leaving in 1963 to join the FBI. He then went on to work as a police chief in Pottsville and a variety of jobs in private security.
He left his last job in the Sheriff’s Department in Camden County, N.J., in 2000, then spent a year trying to relax, reading and taking an occasional job playing piano at private parties.
His bid to come out of retirement hasn’t been well received at police headquarters.
While officials have repeatedly declined to comment on Brophy’s bid to join the force, Brophy said he was aware that some administrators were upset about his application and felt his candidacy was an embarrassment.
Until the 1990s, the department refused to accept any applicant over age 35. It dropped the policy when it was sued for age discrimination, and instead adopted a battery of physical standards that would weed out those unfit for the force.
Since then the department has gotten several job applications from people in their 40s and 50s, but none in their 60s or 70s, except Brophy, police officials said. Officials couldn’t verify whether the department has ever hired an older recruit.
The department said it has slightly relaxed physical standards for older applicants partly to make it easier for experienced recruits _ like former soldiers or officers from other departments _ to join the force.
All former police officers who leave the force must complete basic training at the police academy again before being put back on patrol, the department said.
Brophy, who is 6 feet tall and weighs 185 pounds, said he was getting by at the academy. He said he excelled on driving exams that test reaction time. He endured defense training exercises where he had to break out of a bear hug and wrestle a suspect to the ground.
The 1 1/2-mile run was giving him trouble, but he said he had reduced his time from around 20 minutes to a best of about 18 minutes.
Department standards require male applicants age 60 and older to run the course in 16 minutes, 20 seconds. Younger applicants must run a much faster time.
``I think I have a good chance on appeal,’' he said. ``If I win, I might not just be the oldest rookie cop in Philadelphia’s history, but the first to come back three times.’'