The Biden-Harris DOJ’s Department of Civil Rights on Friday filed suit against South Bend, Indiana, for alleged sex and racial discrimination.
According to the lawsuit, fewer black and female police applicants are passing the written exam and fitness test, respectively, than white males. The DOJ claims that’s due to discriminatory tests, which allegedly violate 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,” a press release from the department said.
Notably, the South Bend Police Department lowered their fitness standards in 2019 in an attempt to include more females on the force. However, women are continuing to fail the test at greater rates than their male counterparts, The Daily Caller reported.
“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 of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said.
“Discriminatory barriers that deny qualified Black and female applicants the opportunity to be police officers violate civil rights and undermine public safety efforts,” she added. “The Justice Department is committed to equal access to employment opportunities in the policing sector so that all qualified applicants have a fair chance to protect and serve their communities.”
“I am beyond disappointed that the DOJ has not been forthcoming with how these claims were determined in the first place,” South Bend Police Chief Scott Ruszkowski told The Daily Caller about the DOJ’s suit. “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.”
“We have even asked the outside testing company to modify the written test to open the process to more applicants,” Ruszowksi added. “All requirements are listed online and meet State mandates, and more importantly, meet what our community expects in a professional police officer.”
Harris, the Democrats’ 2024 presidential nominee, has repeatedly promoted so-called equity, meaning certain people, usually based on immutable qualities like race or sex, should be given extra resources or advantages with the goal of equal outcomes.
Alternatively, folks on the Right advocate for equality, which generally means providing everyone the same opportunities.
“Equitable treatment means we all end up at the same place,” a video Harris posted in 2020 promotes.
There’s a big difference between equality and equity. pic.twitter.com/n3XfQyjLNe
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 1, 2020
Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney strongly reacted to the video, saying Harris’ post sounded “like Karl Marx.”
“Sounds just like Karl Marx,” Cheney posted. “A century of history has shown where that path leads. We all embrace equal opportunity, but government-enforced equality of outcomes is Marxism.”
Ironically, Cheney has endorsed Harris for president, claiming she’s putting “country over party.”