Police officer wanted: high IQ need not apply

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) A city that doesn't want police officers
with "too high an IQ" has been sued by an applicant who was refused a job
because of his high score on an intelligence test.
In a complaint filed this week in U.S. District Court in New
Haven, Robert Jordan claims the city of New London discriminated against
him based on his intelligence and violated his constitutional rights.
Jordan says assistant city manager Keith Harrigan, who
oversees hiring for the city, told him: "We don't like to hire people that
have too high an IQ to be cops in this city."
Jordan, 46, seeks injunctions against the city that would stop
the alleged discrimination and unspecified compensatory and punitive
damages.
The city's attorney, Ralph J. Monaco, and its deputy police
chief, William C. Gavitt, have said that candidates who score too high
could tire of police work and leave not long after undergoing costly
academy training. The city spends an estimated $25 ,000 to train a police
officer. Jordan scored a 33 on the intelligence exam, described as a
shortform IQ test that measures a person's ability to learn and solve
problems. Following a policy in place for at least five years, New London
police only interv iewed candidates who scored from 20 to 27.
The average test score nationally for police officers, as well
as general office workers, bank tellers and salespeople, is 21 to 22.