US EQUAL EMPLOY. OPPOR. v. City of Minneapolis
| Decision Date | 16 April 1982 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 4-81-660. |
| Citation | 537 F. Supp. 750 |
| Parties | U. S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF MINNEAPOLIS and Minneapolis Police Relief Association, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota |
Sandra A. Neese, Regional Atty., Thomas Nelson, Supervisory Trial Atty., Isaias Ortiz, Lloyd Zimmerman, Senior Trial Attys., U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Milwaukee Dist. Office, Milwaukee, Wis., for plaintiff.
Robert Alfton, City Atty., Steven Fredrickson, Mary M. Wahlstrand, Asst. City Attys., Minneapolis, Minn., for defendant City of Minneapolis.
Roger A. Peterson, Richard L. Kaspari, Jay Y. Benanav, Peterson, Engberg & Peterson, Minneapolis, Minn., for defendant Minneapolis Police Relief Assn.
This is an action brought under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., challenging certain mandatory retirement requirements for police captains employed by the City of Minneapolis. On October 20, 1981, this Court issued an order temporarily enjoining the forced retirement of Captain David H. Anschutz of the Minneapolis Police Department. By agreement of the parties, the Order has remained in effect until the issuance of this Memorandum and Order. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65(a)(2), the Court ordered consolidation of the trial on the merits with the hearing on the application for a preliminary injunction. The following memorandum constitutes the Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a).
The plaintiff herein is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), an agency of the United States Government charged with administration and enforcement of the ADEA. The EEOC commenced this action on behalf of "charging party" David H. Anschutz. Anschutz is a captain of the Minneapolis Police Department. He was born on October 20, 1916, and reached age 65 on October 20, 1981.
Defendant City of Minneapolis is a political subdivision of the State of Minnesota. It maintains a law enforcement agency consisting of over 700 persons. Defendant Minneapolis Police Relief Association (MPRA) is a quasi-governmental corporation responsible for the administration of pensions for Minneapolis police. The MPRA is an instrumentality of the State of Minnesota and is an employer within the meaning of the ADEA, 29 U.S.C. § 630(b).
Pursuant to state statutes, the defendants require that all Minneapolis police officers retire upon reaching age 65. The state laws in question are codified as Minn.Stat. §§ 423.075 and 423.755. Section 423.075, Subd. 1 (1981), provides in pertinent part:
Every employee, officer, or person on the payroll of any fire or police department in any city of the first class who is designated as a future beneficiary by the rules of any tax aided pension, relief, or retirement fund established and maintained by authority of laws of this state, shall retire upon reaching the age of 65 years.
Section 423.755 provides in pertinent part:
... Subject only to the provisions of section 423.075, a member shall retire upon reaching the age of 65, and upon attaining the age of 65 shall cease to be an active member of the association. Any member who knowingly fails or refuses to comply with this section thereby renders himself, his widow and children ineligible for any benefits provided under section 423.755, subdivision 1, and section 421.75. Any person who has ceased to be an active member of the association or has knowingly failed or refused to retire, shall be eligible only for the refund provided for in section 423.755, subdivision 2.
Minneapolis is a city of the first class within the meaning of section 423.075, subdivision 1, and participates in the pension program referenced in section 423.755 through the MPRA. Unless restrained by this Court, the defendants would have enforced the mandatory retirement provisions of these state laws against Captain Anschutz on October 20, 1981.
The Minneapolis Police Department is an agency of the City of Minneapolis responsible for providing law enforcement and emergency services to the city. It has 714 sworn officers and 93 non-sworn employees. Members of the Department are either in the classified service, which is regulated by the civil service laws, or the unclassified service, which is not regulated by civil service laws. The department is structured in a pyramidal chain of command, the higher ranks of which are in the unclassified service. The ranks in the unclassified service are chief of police, deputy chief of police, inspector of police, and supervisors of the internal affairs unit, the morals and narcotics section, and of license inspections. The ranks in the classified service are captain, detective supervisor, lieutenant, sergeant and police officer.
The rank of captain is the highest position in the Minneapolis Police Department subject to civil service regulations and procedures. The minimum qualifications required to take the civil service examination for the rank of captain are graduation from high school or the equivalent, and two years experience as a police lieutenant or four years experience as a detective. Also required are a thorough knowledge of laws, ordinances and regulations applicable to police work, a thorough knowledge of the principles and techniques of police work and traffic control, the ability to supervise, lead and instruct subordinates, ability to maintain good relations with the public and within the department, ability to make clear and accurate reports. No medical exam or physical fitness test is required of candidates for the position of captain.
The Minneapolis Police Department currently employs 16 captains. The department is divided into three bureaus, with each bureau subdivided into divisions. Each captain is responsible for the operation of a particular division. Five of the 16 captains are involved in command of divisions in the patrol bureau of the department. Of these five, four are engaged in the command of Minneapolis' four precinct houses, and the fifth commands the street crimes division. Six captains are in charge of divisions in the investigative bureau of the department. Captain Anschutz currently commands one of the investigative divisions, the forgery and fraud division. The remaining five captains are in charge of divisions in the service bureau or hold other administrative posts. The duties of captains vary somewhat depending on the characteristics of the precinct or division. In the past, captains have been transferred to different precincts or divisions every two or three years. The purpose of the frequent rotation among posts is to provide each captain with a broad range of experience, thereby improving leadership capacity. The department exercises considerable discretion in deciding which captain to assign to a particular post and when to make assignments. In at least one instance, a captain remained in the same post for approximately eight years.
In general, a captain's duties involve the management and supervision of a division of the department. Each captain commands a number of police officers of the rank of lieutenant and below, and supervises the day to day activities of those subordinates. A captain's job is primarily that of a manager and executive. A captain oversees and coordinates the utilization of law enforcement resources within a division. The duties involve establishing policies and rules for the division, planning and coordinating activities of assigned personnel, handling disciplinary actions, supervising the training of subordinates, maintaining effective communications with community groups and the public in general, and supervising the preparation, maintenance and presentation of records, budgets and inventory. A captain's duties also involve some command presence in the field during "street situations" such as barricaded suspects, hostage negotiations, crowd control at local events, or natural disasters. Captains in the patrol bureau tend to encounter more street situations than captains in the investigative or service bureaus.
The amount of time a captain must spend in responding to field emergencies is not great. Captain John Jensen, commander of a precinct house, testified that he is more active in field operations than most captains and that field work constitutes about five percent of his job. From January 1, 1979, to November 6, 1981, captains of the Minneapolis Police Department participated in approximately .2 of one percent of the arrests made by Minneapolis police officers.1 At the scene of a street situation, other officers will nearly always be present. A captain will generally be the highest or among the highest ranking officers at the scene. Therefore, a captain's role in street situations normally involves directing and coordinating the work of other officers at the scene. A captain must exercise judgment in making decisions on how to respond to threats to public safety, including such decisions as whether to use force to bring a situation under control, how much force to use, and the timing of the use of force. Although the evidence established that captains infrequently participate in front line duties, the infrequent situations nevertheless may involve considerable danger and responsibility for the lives of fellow officers and the public.
In addition to the duties of the position, police captains are sworn officers who perform general law enforcement duties. A sworn officer who encounters a crime in progress must respond, whether on or off duty. Situations where a captain encounters a crime in progress arise infrequently, but when they arise the captain may be required to use a firearm and apprehend a suspect.
In the Minneapolis Police Department, there are three ranks above the rank of...
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