A dozen white cops in San Francisco are suing the city over a grading system for promotions that results in preferential treatment for minority officers, reopening an issue that’s plagued the department for decades.
A practice of “banding” promotional test results for San Francisco police put in place in 1979 results in minority candidates with lower scores landing promotions over whites with higher scores, and the officers – 12 white men and one white lesbian woman – are asking a federal court to make it stop, the San Francisco Chroniclereports.
The “banding” system is the result of a 1973 lawsuit against the city by black and female officers alleging discrimination in hiring and promotions, and the law was upheld in 1992, when the San Francisco Police Officers Association sued to end the discrimination against whites.
The newest lawsuit, filed last week, is the first to change the continued practice since the 1979 settlement agreement with black and female officers expired in 1998, and it contains evidence as recent as 2016 that the efforts to promote diversity come at the expense of white officers.
“The city – to this day – has a longstanding practice and custom of discriminating against white males in SFPD promotions to the rank of sergeant, lieutenant and captain,” M. Greg Mullanax, attorney for the officers. – read more