W.O.T.

Court OKs Barring High IQs for Cops

abcnews.go.com
N E W L O N D O N, Conn., Sept. 8, 2000

Court: Barring High IQs From Policing Isn't Discrimination

A man whose bid to become a police officer was rejected after he scored too high on an intelligence test has lost an appeal in his federal lawsuit against the city.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld a lower court’s decision that the city did not discriminate against Robert Jordan because the same standards were applied to everyone who took the test.

Jordan, a 49-year-old college graduate, took the exam in 1996 and scored 33 points, the equivalent of an IQ of 125. But New London police interviewed only candidates who scored 20 to 27, on the theory that those who scored too high could get bored with police work and leave soon after undergoing costly training. Most cops score just above normal. The average score nationally for police officers is 21 to 22, the equivalent of an IQ of 104, or just a little above average.

… the U.S. District Court found that New London had “shown a rational basis for the policy.” In a ruling dated Aug. 23, the 2nd Circuit agreed. The court said the policy might be unwise but was a rational way to reduce job turnover.

Jordan has worked as a prison guard since he took the test.


Prison Guards have higher IQ’s than cops? The average cop's IQ is 104 and an IQ of 125 is too high? What's the bottom IQ? I think he stopped me a couple of years ago.