Boston Police Civil Service Exams Don’t Discriminate, Judge Says

US District Court Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. ruled on Friday that civil service promotional exams used by the Boston Police Department did not discriminate against minority officers, The Boston Globe reports.

The decision means that the testing procedures of the exams, used by the BPD and several other departments in Massachusetts between 2005 and 2008, will not be required to change. Judge O’Toole sided with the city of Boston which had argued at trial that the exams were the only adequate option of assessing candidates for promotion.

The ruling drew instant backlash.

“The decision is entirely wrong, particularly with respect to the city of Boston,” said Harold Lichten, lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, who included officers from Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, Lawrence, and Methuen police departments and MBTA Transit Police. “We think the judge is wrong, both under the law and under the facts. And we believe his decision is an outlier going against the many, many other cases that have gone the other way throughout the country.”

To read more on the response to Judge O’Toole’s ruling, you can read the full Boston Globe report here.