By Kristin Davis
Virginian-Pilot
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Chief Kelvin Wright vowed to build a more diverse police force when he took over the top job in April.
He hired a full-time recruiter and promoted two black men to captain and one to major.
But a lack of racial and gender diversity among a top tier of police officers up for lieutenant and sergeant has sparked a contentious review of the promotion process.
Police forces across the country have made diversity a priority, said Kim Kohlhepp, testing and career development manager for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
“It’s a continuing challenge, but police departments have recognized for a long time the importance of mirroring the community they serve,” Kohlhepp said.
Chesapeake officials last week announced plans to hire a consultant after exam results left 30 applicants - none of them women or blacks - in the running for the promotions. Those were the top scorers of the 144 who took the tests earlier this month.
Two Chesapeake police organizations say the exams were fair and have threatened to sue the city if it tosses out the results.
But the city’s police force has had trouble with tests in the past. In 2007, Chesapeake settled a racial discrimination lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice that accused the Police Department of unfairly disqualifying black and Hispanic officer applicants with a math test. The department has now changed its entrance-exam requirements.
City Manager William Harrell has said that the latest effort at validating the tests is fair “for all involved.”
“But certainly a diverse work force is an objective of the city,” he said in an interview. Harrell also cited a 20-minute extension given to lieutenant test-takers as a reason for the review. Those who finished within the allotted time challenged the decision.
Twelve of the city’s 14 police lieutenants are white men. Two are white women. One position is vacant.
Thirty-two white men, one Asian man, five black men, three white women and two black women are sergeants. Two positions are open.
Of the city’s population of 220,560, blacks numbered 66,218, or 30 percent, according to a 2006 American Community Survey. It said the population included 106,977 males, or 48.5 percent, and 113,583 females, or 51.5 percent.
Michael Imprevento, an attorney for Chesapeake’s Fraternal Order of Police and the Coalition of Police, said throwing out the latest test results would be solely race-driven.
The exam questions were developed using the Chesapeake Police Department Policy and Procedure Manual, city code, the Chesapeake employee handbook and state criminal law among other manuals and texts, the city said. The same promotional process has been used for several decades.
“Although seeking diversity is laudible and legal,” Imprevento said, “making promotions based upon race is impermissible.”
Copyright 2008 Virginian-Pilot