Allen v. City of Mobile
| Citation | 331 F. Supp. 1134 |
| Decision Date | 09 September 1971 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 5409-69-P. |
| Parties | Willie ALLEN et al., Plaintiffs, v. The CITY OF MOBILE, a municipal corporation, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Alabama |
A. J. Cooper and Vernon Z. Crawford, Mobile, Ala., Jack Greenberg and Jeffery Mintz, New York City, for plaintiffs.
Mylan R. Engel, Fred G. Collins, William H. Brigham, City Atty., Mobile, Ala., for defendants.
Plaintiffs, black police officers of the City of Mobile, brought this class action on behalf of all Negro officers on the police force. Jurisdiction is alleged under 28 U.S.C.A. §§ 1331 (Federal Question; Amount in Controversy; Cost), 1343(3), 1343(4),1 (Civil Rights and Elective Franchise), 2201,2 (Creation of Remedy), 2202 (Further Relief), and 42 U.S.C.A., §§ 1981 (Equal Rights Under the Law), and 1983 (Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights). They seek a declaration of their rights and appropriate injunctive relief against practices, policies, and customs of the several defendants which have the purpose and effect of denying to them, as a result of race, the equal protection of the laws as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and implementing statutes.3
Plaintiffs allege they are assigned to patrol duties and to other work in the City of Mobile Police Department on the basis of race rather than ability. This pattern and practice of assignment results in Negro officers being excluded from patrol duties in predominantly white areas of the city4 and from assignment to many divisions of the City of Mobile Police Department, hereinafter referred to as Department, particularly those concerned with administration. Negroes, it is alleged, are not assigned to ride in cars with white policemen as partners.5
The County Personnel Board, hereinafter referred to as Board, allegedly discriminates by administering promotional examinations which are not job related and by allowing racial bias to enter into the rating of individual patrolmen.6 Plaintiffs further allege they are denied a fair opportunity for promotion in the Department as a result of these tests and promotional requirements which have the purpose and effect of discriminating against them on the basis of race.7
The defendant City of Mobile contends that the hiring and promotion of police officers by the Department is made solely from eligibility lists established pursuant to State law by the Personnel Board, is not based on race, and does not deny the plaintiffs their rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. They further contend the assignment of officers to various divisions, including the Patrol Division, is based solely on need and the ability of the various personnel of the Department; and, that the customs and practices of the Department do not violate denial of equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment.8
The defendants, Personnel Board and Director, act under a state law which puts the governing and control of personnel for Mobile County under the Civil Service Rules, Regulations and Practices. The Personnel Board consists of three members who serve staggered terms. The Director is elected by the Board and serves at its pleasure. The Director is executive head of the Personnel Department and is charged with the direction and supervision of its administrative and technical activities such as the administration and execution of the classification plan for the classified service. He also computes employee service ratings, conducts tests, formulates employment registers, and certifies persons qualified for appointment, promotion and pay plans.
These defendants contend the Civil Service System has been administered fairly and impartially in accordance with the laws and rules governing the system. They assert they have neither enforced nor maintained any regulations, policy, custom or usage which discriminates against Negro police officers, nor have they deprived or attempted to deprive them of the full use and enjoyment of their rights as Civil Service employees, nor have they denied them equal opportunity to compete for positions in the public service.
As of the date of trial the Mobile Police Department consisted of 282 sworn officers of which 35 were Negro. There were 43 sergeants of whom one was a Negro. There were 22 officers above the rank of sergeant, none of whom were black. This leaves a total of 217 sworn officers below the rank of sergeant of which 34 are Negro.
There are 107 whites and 23 Negroes assigned to the Patrol Division. This is approximately a five to one ratio of whites to blacks.
The City is divided into 18 zones or beats. Eight zones are predominantly black, one zone is 50% white-50% black, and nine zones are predominantly white.9
The Patrol Division covers these zones with 24 to 27 cars per shift. There is a general policy of the City to have one-man patrol cars; however, at any given time there are approximately ten patrol cars carrying two persons. Two or three cars will usually carry two officers because one of them is recovering from an illness or has a permanent health impairment. The other two-man patrol cars will carry recruits in a training program. The cars have been segregated; whites paired with whites and blacks paired with blacks. Prior to the filing of this lawsuit Negroes were assigned exclusively to the predominantly black zones. Since then, there have been some transfers of Negroes to predominantly white zones.
Prior to the filing of this lawsuit Negro officers had never been assigned to the Docket Room Division, Traffic Division, Records Division, Municipal Court, Training Division, nor Planning Division. Recently, however, black patrolmen have been assigned to the Docket Room and the Traffic Division.
Usually officers have been assigned to the Municipal Court because of some physical impairment. At the present time the court is staffed by civilians with the exceptions of two bailiffs who are sworn officers. One has a history of heart attacks, and the other is recovering from a serious operation. When vacancies occur in the future these vacancies will be filled by civilians and not sworn police officers.
The Records Division consists of one officer who is required to have the rank of lieutenant. The Planning Division consists of a captain and a lieutenant. The Training Division consists of a captain, a lieutenant, and a sergeant. The Planning and Training Divisions require officers with special expertise.
One of the plaintiffs, who also appeared as a witness, has requested, and was refused, an assignment to the Training Division. He attended junior college for two years and has had experience as a teacher. He took the sergeants examination in 1968 and scored 64.60%. The passing mark was 70%. Out of 108 taking this examination, 59 passed.10 Considering his grade and rank on the sergeant's examination, and the court's observation of him as a witness, it appears to the court that his abilities are not commensurate with the qualifications of the position, and concludes the refusal of his request for assignment to the Training Division was non-discriminatory.
No other evidence was offered to substantiate a claim of discrimination against Negro members of the Police Department in these three divisions. The men serving in these positions are competent and obviously have expertise beyond the scope of any of plaintiffs' witnesses. The thrust of plaintiffs' evidence becomes statistical. The plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate that the City's requirement that officers with these ranks and their respective skills to fill these positions is arbitrary or done to prevent blacks from serving in these jobs. The court concludes that there has been no racial discrimination by the Department's assignment to these divisions.
The Traffic Division and the Docket Room are different matters. In the former there is one Negro compared with 31 white patrolmen; in the latter, there is on Negro compared with 11 white patrolmen. It is noted that as of May 1971.11 there were 161 white patrolmen and 34 Negro patrolmen; or 82.6% of the patrolmen were white while 17.4% are black. Though 17.4% of the patrolmen are Negro, only 3.1% of the patrolmen assigned to the Traffic Division and only 8.3% assigned to the Docket Room are black.12 The Traffic Division is made up of volunteers who know how to ride a motorcycle. The Department does not give instruction or training in the operation of this vehicle. Only one Negro has applied for assignment to this division who could operate a motorcycle. He was assigned to the division.
There has been a consistent pattern of assigning black officers only to cases in which either the victims or the suspects were black. This constitutes assignment of cases on a racial basis. Prior to the filing of this lawsuit no efforts were made to determine whether or not black officers could effectively handle case assignments where the victims and suspects were white nor if they could effectively patrol predominantly white zones, nor conversely, whether or not white officers could effectively patrol predominantly Negro areas and investigate cases involving black victims and suspects.
The court notes that there were no black police officers prior to 1954, and the crime rate in all areas of the city is higher now than then. This indicates that in general white officers can effectively patrol predominantly Negro areas and investigate cases which have Negro victims and Negro suspects. The evidence fails to convince the court the converse would not be true.
Defendants Mobile County Personnel Board and Director Pierce.
The Mobile County Personnel Board is charged by law with providing qualified personnel for the county and City of Mobile. This includes the City of Mobile Police Department. The Board administers the promotional program and furnishes the Police Department an eligibility list...
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