The psychologist on the other end of the phone line said, “Oh no, they weren’t supposed to say you failed.”
“What were they supposed to say,” I asked.
“They should have said that the testing showed personality traits of the applicant were not congruent with that of a successful police officer.”
“That’s funny,” I said. “Right now, I am putting on my uniform for the 3-11 shift for the department I’ve worked with for over a year.”
The backstory is that a friend of mine from the police academy class I graduated from worked at the department I was applying to. After a year on the job, he had a lot a great things to say about his department. I had passed the written test with flying colors, passed the physical and was getting ready for an oral interview until I hit this speed bump. I worked in a four-stoplight township in Montgomery County, PA and his department, still in the county, bordered the roughest part of Philly with more action, more specialized units and better pay. It was the summer of 1977. I was feeling claustrophobic in my fourteen-square mile slice of horse farms and suburbia.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
Having minored in Psychology, I wasn’t finished with him yet. “Who made up the comparison group demographic?”
He wasn’t ready for that question and coughed. “The cohort were successful police officers who were promoted to Sargeant.”
“Where?”
“Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”
“When?
“Ugh, 1957.”
“Any college graduates represented in the cohort?”
“No.”
“Any Blacks?”
A little more uncomfortable now, “Don’t think so.”
“Women? I remember when I sat for the written test there were blacks and women in attendance,” I said.
“All male,” he said.
“A mid-Western town, pre-civil rights, pre-Vietnam war medium-sized city?”
“Yes, he replied.”
“Sorta like Happy Days with Richie Cunningham and the Fonz,” I said recalling the hit TV show at the time.
“I can’t argue with that comparison.”
“Probably a lot of veterans from World War II and Korea,” I added.
“Most likely, veterans tend to gravitate to police work.
“I agree, I have several Vietnam vets on my PD. Average age?”
“Early thirties,” he said.
“And you think this is a valid test?” I know it was like I was asking a barber if I needed a haircut.
“The personality traits test transcend age, ethnicity, education, geographical location….”
“But not life experience. Don’t you think fighting in a war and several years on the streets of the beer capital of America forges a personality? I don’t want to get into the whole nature versus nurture debate.”
“I cannot disagree with you,” he said.
“Safe using a double negative there, Doc. Well, I have to get my young, Dean’s list, East Coast suburban ass in gear if I don’t want to be late.” I had learned previously challenging a township’s hiring practices was satisfying, but in the end I was still the little kid looking into the candy store window. That story is for next week.
“Again, I am sorry for the letter,” he said.
“Not as sorry as you will be if any black females go to the Civil Service Commission.” The Federal Judiciary was keen to address years of institutional discrimination. “Maybe, it is time to design a new test.” I hung up before he could get the last word in.
Second Chance Vest went over a white T and under a short-sleeve uniform shirt; put pants on next with a skinny black belt followed by a Sam Browne belt holding all the town-issued lethal, non-lethal and restraining tools of the trade, black socks and matching spit-shined leather shoes with rubber soles completed this flunky’s ensemble. I stared at the pimply-faced policeman in the mirror. I failed a f-ing personality test. That’s BS!
As I hurried to the station, my father’s words rang in my head when I told him six years earlier I wanted to take Criminal Justice at Indiana University of PA. (great school, great program to this day) He said, “you don’t need to go to college to be a cop.”
Fifty years later, I have the benefit of hindsight. Now, I realize three things:
- I benefit from White Privilege, White Male Privilege specifically.
- I was surfing with the first wave of college-educated cops, and I fell onto the hidden reef. (remember, during the Vietnam War, many college students hurled profanities and other things at the bearers of riot shields and batons, not a real Kumbaya time in our history)
- The transition from being a war fighter to a public servant has its own issues, but police organizations still hire followers (of orders and chain of command,) and not outspoken independent thinkers (visit most state or large municipal police training academies).
- Another piece of advice from my father was, “You have to go along to get along.” Easier said than done for my hard-drinking, untreated, and undiagnosed ADHD stubborn-to-a- fault self.
So the psychologist was right, my personality wasn’t a good fit. It took years in corporate life to realize finally I was better off working for myself and in 1997, I created my first private investigations company. My father was somewhat right, I could have saved him my tuition, room and board, but the education was priceless. I learned how to be a team player, more like an owner-manager of my team.
Regrets?
Some.
But I learned how to swim in open water and not the safety of the lagoon and I wouldn’t trade that experience for a twenty or twenty-five years to get a pension from a police department where I would have been miserable.
How about some hard-earned advice on navigating the turbulent waters of modern-day policing?
- Act like your immediate supervisor and their boss are the smartest persons in the room- nobody likes a show off.
- Technical or tactical ability is less important than working on your relationships–nobody likes a smart ass.
- If your goals don’t mesh with your organization’s–you are the square peg–soften your edges or get out and find your own square hole.
- Clearly be grounded in the Oath you took, (recite it tonight before bedtime), step back and assess situations and ask if you are being drawn to a solution where you will tarnish your badge. Come up with a better solution. You will be better prepared the next time.
