Suit challenges hiring process Questions arise about rankings

The mayor said he will evaluate the two-list hiring process.
By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city is fighting a lawsuit that calls into question the hiring of a black woman whose written exam score placed her as No. 127 on the civil service eligibility roster for police.
Last summer, three openings in the police department were filled by George Wallace (black), Nancy Tipple (white) and Dorothy Johnson (black). Their names appeared as 10th, 13th and 127th, respectively, on the eligibility roster established in 2003.
Youngstown attorney Dennis Haines has filed a lawsuit on behalf of James Conroy, who is white and a former city police officer. Conroy, initially terminated in 2000, was rehired in a settlement and then resigned. In 2003, he took the test for patrol officer, scored 100 on the written exam and received 10 bonus points.
Scoring
Conroy's name appears sixth on the civil service eligibility roster. The ranking is a combination of written test scores and bonus points. Applicants received a bonus of 10 percent added to their written score for police training or bachelor's degree or 20 percent for military service. The maximum that could be added to the written score was 20 percent.
Haines said "one candidate [Johnson] is so far down the list you would have to shake your head and ask why she was hired."
He said he will ask that the city be enjoined from making the three police hirings permanent. He said it's time for the city to get back on track and have the civil service commission do what it's supposed to do.
Jennifer Labatte, administrator of the Youngstown Civil Service Commission, said that to hire three people, the top 15 names would have been sent to the appointing authority.
The mayor makes appointments upon recommendations from department heads.
When asked to explain how the appointing authority received Johnson's name, Labatte said she could not discuss the matter because of the lawsuit.
The Vindicator made a public-records request for all eligibility lists sent to the hiring authority in June 2005.
Chief got two lists
The documents show that the civil service commission sent then-Police Chief Robert E. Bush Jr. two lists -- the first contained the names of the 15 highest scoring white men who ranked in the top 25 overall. Twelve of the men had received certificates for police training. Six of the men are listed as military veterans and one is in the Army National Guard.
The second list contained 28 names: 10 black men, 10 white women, two black women, three Hispanic men, and a man and two women whose race is listed as "other." The list contained Wallace and Tipple, even though they ranked No. 10 and No. 13, respectively, on the master eligibility list.
If, as with the list of 15 white men, 15 names had been submitted to Bush from the minority list, Johnson, listed as No. 19 on the minority list, would not have been considered for employment.
The 28 minority candidates submitted to the chief for hiring consideration ranked as low as No. 191 on the master eligibility list. Sixteen of the candidates had received certificates for police training and five had military service, including Wallace, records show.
Bush's selection of Wallace, Tipple and Johnson was approved by then-Mayor George M. McKelvey in June 2005.
Others eliminated?
Detective Sgt. Rick Alli, who does background checks for police candidates, said he could not reveal how many candidates above Johnson may have been disqualified because of problems in their background. He suggested that Johnson, after elimination of those above her because of background or failure to show for interviews, may have ended up in the top 10 on the minority list.
Alli said the final decision was up to the chief to hire the best candidates. He said that he doesn't think Bush erred by hiring Johnson from the minority list but that the decision will likely be determined by a higher authority.
Haines said the Ohio Revised Code requires the civil service commission to send the hiring authority the names of the top 10 candidates. The lawyer said the mayor failed to appoint Conroy, who ranked sixth.
Conroy's civil lawsuit is pending in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. A show-cause hearing is set for May 31.
Law Director Iris Guglucello referred questions to the city's outside counsel, Neil D. Schor. He declined to discuss the lawsuit.
Cited Ohio Revised Code
In the city's answer to Conroy's complaint, Schor wrote that McKelvey made the police appointments under Section 124.90 of the Ohio Revised Code, which permits the legislative authority of a municipality to suspend or alter the appointment rules for minority hiring.
Former Councilman James Fortune, D-6th, introduced the ordinance before the 2003 civil service test that allowed the city to adopt Section 124.90 of the Ohio Revised Code. The ordinance was passed as an emergency measure on first reading.
Fortune told The Vindicator that it was always his goal to see a balance of women, blacks and Hispanics in the police and fire departments.
"When I became councilman that was my ulterior motive -- to try and balance the scales," Fortune said. "I think we did a good job."
Haines said the city wasn't under a court order, for example, in regard to selection on basis of race. He is expected to file an amended complaint challenging the city's response that cites its adoption of Section 124.90 in the Ohio Revised Code.
"The city claims they have right to engage in minority hiring but they misread the law," Haines said. The city "did not have right to engage in minority hiring in violation of established legal principles."
A roster shows that roughly 25 percent of the 190-member police department are minorities -- blacks, Hispanics and women.
Refers to '70s lawsuit
"I think because of a prior lawsuit [late 1970s], we were permitted to pass an ordinance to go up and down the list to maintain racial balance," Bush said. "The ordinance says the appointing authority can go beyond the rule of choosing from the top 10."
He said the holdover from the lawsuit from nearly 30 years ago is that "we learned from our mistakes -- an all-white male police force is wrong."
The former chief said he considered only applicants who already had peace officer training.
Johnson, meanwhile, showed deception to certain questions when given a pre-employment voice stress analysis test, records in her personnel file show. Deception was indicated when she was asked if she had ever stolen property valued at more than $50, used marijuana, used cocaine, committed or been accused of domestic violence and used any illegal drugs, according to a report.
Voice stress anaylsis tests are given to detect problem areas, such as the possibility of illegal activity. Some departments use polygraph tests.
Gave deceptive answers
The report notes that Johnson, who was tested when she applied for a police officer position in November 2001, gave deceptive answers then, too, to questions about theft, illegal drug use and domestic violence.
Bush said "few pristine" applicants come along. He said although Johnson had a "cloud" over her, nothing could be substantiated after further investigation.
"We never found anyone to link her to theft or drug use," Bush said. "A decision had to be made and I made it."
Johnson did not respond to messages left with her supervisor.
Her previous employment included a short time as a part-time deputy with the Mahoning County Sheriff's Department. She was laid off because of funding, the sheriff said. Johnson, because she was not full time, was not given a polygraph test or voice stress analysis test, he said.
What new mayor says
Mayor Jay Williams, who took office in January, said he couldn't comment on acts taken by the previous administration and would reserve his comments because of the pending lawsuit over police hirings.
The mayor said it's important that city hirings reflect the makeup of the community. He said it would be irresponsible to not do so.
"That being said, I firmly believe all the hirings have to be qualified and meet the criteria set by the Ohio Revised Code, civil service commission and city charter," Williams said. "I don't think the two goals are mutually exclusive."
The mayor was asked if he would continue the two-list process in police hiring.
"I will have to evaluate and understand the rationale behind it and certainly make sure the city is doing things legally and appropriately," he said.
He said he wants hirings to reflect the community in a way that doesn't violate any laws.
The mayor acknowledged that he will have a chance to deal with the two-list process the next time openings are filled in the police department.
December test
Before the December 2005 civil service test, city council passed an ordinance identical to the one passed in 2003 that permits the suspension or alteration of the appointment rules for minority hiring.
Of the 108 men and women who took the test in December 2005, 48 passed. Two white women scored in the top 20 but no blacks.
Conroy's score placed him in the No. 2 position. A white woman who ranked No. 4 on the 2003 test is now listed as No. 1 on the new eligibility roster. She is a Marine veteran and reserve police officer in another jurisdiction.