Biden’s Justice Department Decrees That Women Can’t Be Strong and Black People Can’t Be Smart

Last week, Maryland officials approved a $2.75 million settlement to resolve a federal investigation into alleged “discriminatory hiring practices” against black and female applicants to the Maryland State Police.

The complaint alleges that MDSP’s use of a written test called the Police Officer Selection Test (POST) “disproportionately excludes Black candidates, and that its use of a physical fitness test called the Functional Fitness Assessment Test (FFAT) disproportionately excludes female candidates from employment as troopers.” Crucially, the Justice Department alleged “that MDSP’s uses of the POST and the FFAT are not job related or consistent with business necessity, and thus, violate Title VII.”

As part of the investigation, the division conducted an in-depth review of MDSP’s hiring practices, the composition of its sworn personnel, applicant data, and information received from the Maryland State Police, and concluded the State’s written and physical fitness tests do not meaningfully distinguish between applicants who can and cannot perform the position of Trooper. These tests also had the effect of disqualifying Black and female applicants from the hiring process at significantly disproportionate rates.

In other words, Biden’s Justice Department concluded that basic math, reading, and physical-fitness skills aren’t necessary to serve on Maryland’s police force and that to think otherwise is racist and sexist.

The $2.75 million will be disbursed among the applicants who failed the agency’s entrance exams and used to hire up to 25 of those people as long as they pass the newly designed, extra-inclusive selection process.

“We view this settlement as an improvement to our hiring processes and will use this as an opportunity to engage with experts to enhance our ability to assess new applicants and continue to have our Maryland State Police be the career of choice for every Marylander,” Colonel Roland L. Butler, the state-police superintendent, said in a press statement.

Well, maybe we don’t want state police to be the career choice of every Marylander. (I don’t know about you, but I would like my town’s police officers to be able to walk, run, and shoot a gun.)

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement that the agreement requires Maryland State Police to make “meaningful reforms” to ensure that “all qualified applicants have a fair chance to serve.” “Equal employment opportunities in law enforcement are not just a core civil right but essential to ensuring that those who serve reflect the rich racial and gender diversity of the communities they are sworn to protect,” Clarke said.

So, what exactly was on these “discriminatory” tests?

The Functional Fitness Assessment Test (FFAT) measures an applicant’s “fitness level and physical preparedness for the Academy.” The criteria are standard and basic. Applicants must be able to complete the following in one go:

• Push-Ups: eighteen (18) — No time limit

• Sit-Ups: twenty-seven (27) — No time limit​​

• Flexibility: (while seated)

• 1.5 Mile Run: maximum time of 15 minutes and 20 seconds (15:20)

Given the obvious physical demands of being a cop, this test should be a breeze for those seeking to join the blue. However, female applicants in Maryland were failing at a “disproportionate” rate. Rather than acknowledge the biological differences between men and women — which might just contribute to the men’s higher FFAT success rate — the Justice Department determined that the test is sexist. (For the record, the current FFAT requirements should be easily achievable for all healthy men and women.) The Justice Department decreed that a new physical-fitness test be designed — which will, of course, lower the standards for all applicants.

While it is crucial that police officers have the physical ability to confront criminals, they also have to fill out mountains of paperwork. To this end, the written examination to become a Maryland state trooper — the National Police Officer Selection Test (POST) — examines rudimentary math, reading, and writing skills. The study guide offers sample test questions that fifth-graders should be able to answer:

In [Section I] of the exam you will be provided with situations that require the use of basic arithmetic. You will read each situation and solve the problem. You are not allowed to use a calculator in this section; scratch paper will be provided in the test booklet to do all figuring.

1. On Tuesday, Officer Jones worked the 3 p.m.-11 p.m. shift. At 10:55 p.m. he was called to the scene of an accident where he remained until 1:30 a.m. How long past his regular shift did Officer Jones work?

(A) 55 minutes

(B) 1 hour, 50 minutes

(C) 2 hours

(D) 2 hours, 30 minutes

(E) 3 hours, 5 minutes

In this example of a simple problem, the test taker must determine how much time has passed between 11 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. I’m no DEI expert, but this question seems pretty straightforward and non-racist. (While the State of Maryland may disagree, I do not believe that the capacity to tell time is exclusive to a particular race.)

Another sample question requires some basic addition — buckle up.

4. A police officer is called to an accident scene across town from his present location. If he has to travel two miles on Grant Road, three miles on route 47, and 12 miles on interstate 70, how many miles does he have to travel to get to the accident scene?

(A) 17 miles

(B) 19 miles

(C) 52 miles

(D) 59 miles

(E) 82 miles

Alright, so we have two miles + three miles + twelve miles. (Remember, no calculator!) What do we think, is this question unfair to certain ethnicities? And, hey, if math isn’t your strong suit, no biggie. Sections II to IV will lay off the numbers and examine rudimentary reading, grammar, and writing skills. Let’s look at a sample question from Section III:

14. Mr. Smith always kept his cooking utensils in good working condition. All the kitchen _____ were very sharp

(A) knife

(B) knives

(C) knifes

and the pots and pans were scrubbed clean.

Scratching your head yet? Shuddering from the embedded racism in the question?

The “significantly disproportionate” outcomes between white and black POST-takers in Maryland is more damning of the state’s public-education system than anything else. Such differences flow downstream from proficiency differences in Maryland’s middle schools. The 2022 Reading State Snapshot Report relays that, among Maryland eighth-graders, 82 percent of white students met the NAEP’s “basic” standard, while only 54 percent of black students did. Asian students were leading the pack, with 87 percent achieving “basic” ability, while 19 percent of Asians were reading at an “advanced” level. Only 1 percent of black eighth-graders had achieved “advanced” status.

Of course, there are a plethora of factors contributing to the fact that nearly half of the state’s black eighth-graders fell short of “basic” reading ability — wealth, poverty, zip codes, teachers’ unions, local-government corruption, family and community stability, mismanaged education spending, chronic absenteeism, etc. — but a standard measurement for rudimentary reading comprehension is not itself the problem. (A clear case of “Don’t shoot the messenger.”)

Neither the FFAT or the POST is unjustly discriminatory. The high rates of failure can be attributed to the brute fact that police departments across the country are scraping the bottom of the barrel for staff. (Turns out that when police departments are defunded and publicly excoriated, they find it hard to recruit talent.)

The real story here is that Biden’s Justice Department tyrannically misused Title VII to remove basic qualification standards from MDSP’s application process — and the safety of Maryland communities will have to suffer.