Biden’s DOJ Criticized For Discriminatory Lawsuit Against South Bend Police

The Department of Justice under the Biden-Harris administration has initiated legal action against South Bend, Indiana. The DOJ claimed that the city’s police hiring practices have used discrimination based on sex and race. The claims, however, have led to widespread criticism that the DOJ has wrongly sued the city.

The lawsuit claims that the written exam and fitness test used by the South Bend Police Department unfairly disadvantage Black and female applicants, violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The DOJ “alleges that South Bend uses a written examination that discriminates against Black applicants and a physical fitness test that discriminates against female applicants,” the agency stated.

“Equal employment opportunity is critical to ensuring that law enforcement agencies do not unfairly exclude otherwise eligible job applicants based on discriminatory practices,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said.

“Discriminatory barriers that deny qualified Black and female applicants the opportunity to be police officers violate civil rights and undermine public safety efforts,” Clarke said.

Despite efforts to lower fitness standards to include more women, the DOJ claimed that women have continued to fail the test at higher rates than men.

South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski defended the department’s hiring process, stating it has been consistent and aimed at increasing diversity.

“I am beyond disappointed that the DOJ has not been forthcoming with how these claims were determined in the first place,” Ruszkowski said.

“Our hiring process, which includes females and African American applicants, has been consistent over the last ten years and led to an increasingly diverse department, especially over the past several years,” he added.

“We have even asked the outside testing company to modify the written test to open the process to more applicants,” Ruszkowski concluded.