ACLU: Pittsburgh police discriminate in hiring

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania is filing a federal lawsuit alleging the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police discriminates in hiring.

The ACLU says in a statement today that 368 officers have been hired since 2001, but only 14 are African-American. The lawsuit says the lead plaintiff was third on a list of candidates, but was passed over by at least 32 lower-ranked white applicants.

The ACLU alleges that only 3.8 percent of new officers were African-American, but 26 percent of the city’s population is African-American.

The lawsuit asks for a halt the department’s current hiring process, correction of its discriminatory policies, and to hire the man ranked third and another man as officers with back pay.

The Bureau of Police says it hasn’t seen the suit yet and can’t comment.