Theresa Doherty believed her goal of becoming an officer with the Toronto Police Service was not only possible but that she was in line for a coveted job offer, and that it was only a matter of time.

In April 2014, three years into the lengthy process of applying, Doherty says a police “background” officer called her to attend a spring recruiting class and then asked a question that today has led her to file a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

How old are you?

The question struck her as odd and inappropriate. Police already knew the answer. She was 51 when she passed an initial job interview.

Doherty, who was 53 at the time of the question, and today is 55, is a self-described “late bloomer” who put education and career aspirations on hold while raising six children.

“I always thought that (age) would be to my advantage,” Doherty said in an interview at the dining room table of her rural Peterborough home. “It doesn’t matter how old you are. If you have successfully completed everything that’s required and you continually do so, then age should not be a factor.”

In a human rights application filed this summer, Doherty alleges she was discriminated against because of her age and “systematically lied to … about my standing in the process.” Even after the question about her age, she says she was led to believe she was still in line for a job, and passed and completed each step in a lengthy process, including physical requirements and psychological testing.

A police certification test that was good for three years had just expired when she was asked her age. According to Doherty’s human rights complaint, the background officer told her she would need to redo paperwork and resubmit it, and — believing she was still in line for a job — she did so immediately.

Doherty says she also asked if she was in contention for a coming recruitment class and was told she was.

In late 2014, Doherty says in her complaint that she underwent a required psychological assessment and after hearing nothing back, contacted the same officer in early 2015 for an update and was told she had “successfully passed the background phase of recruitment and that my file had been forwarded to 3 levels of management.”

According to the police hiring process, that meant the next step in the process would be a conditional offer of employment — or no offer at all.

Three months later, she received a letter informing her that she had been “declined further, no explanation given,” Doherty says in her complaint. In hindsight, Doherty believes police had been stalling her. She says none of her references, neighbours or prior employers had been contacted during the background check that she had been told she passed.

“I had been keeping all of my required documentation up to date,” Doherty told the Star. “I was declined four years after a successful interview. I think that’s crazy.”

Doherty contacted a staff sergeant in the service’s employment unit, seeking a meeting and an explanation, and the two, in August 2015, “spoke at great length.” She shared her frustration over being “led to believe” she was “being invited to proceed” and having been asked her age.

According to her complaint, the staff sergeant then noted she hadn’t worked in 14 years, another fact that police knew when she passed her police interview.

Other reasons she was given by police for not being offered a job were hiring cuts and that there were “other excellent qualified candidates.”

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On paper and in terms of experience, Doherty believes she is “competitive” with other candidates and has much to offer as a police officer.

In 1995, she received a registered practical nursing certificate from Sir Sandford Fleming College.

A dislike of injustice drew her to policing, she says. While raising her children, she gradually earned an honours degree from Trent University in sociology. Her studies at Trent included criminology, philosophy, social inequality, comparative social analysis, moral issues, psychology, research methods and international development. She graduated with high marks in 2010.

She went on more than 40 ride-alongs with Peterborough OPP. She is vice-chair of a local community policing committee. She is also an auxiliary officer with the OPP.

Doherty says she did all of this while money was tight.

“I thought that what I’d accomplished in light of my limited resources and income would be something that would cause them to maybe take notice,” said Doherty.

As a remedy to her complaint, Doherty’s preference is with the Toronto police, or alternatively, monetary compensation.

Under Ontario’s Human Rights Code, employers can’t refuse to hire, train or promote people because of age. Toronto police would not discuss Doherty’s allegations because the case is with the human rights tribunal.

According to material it uses to seek out new hires and provided to the Star, the service looks for candidates that have integrity, above all else. A “competitive candidate” is one who is honest, fair, reliable, calm, educated, resourceful, empathetic, community-oriented, honest and tolerant.

Doherty believes she is all those things.“To tell me that I’m not competitive enough, it’s a real slight and a blow,” she told the Star.

What is very different about her, according to police recruitment statistics, was Doherty’s age. Looking at recruitment classes dating back to December 2013, of the 388 recruits, not one was 50 or older, according to data the service provided the Star.

Doherty is aware she wants to begin a job at an age when most are heading out the door. The average age of retirement of a uniformed Toronto officer is around 57, only two years older that Doherty is now.

The police rationale for not hiring her, Doherty predicts in her complaint, will be that she wasn’t as qualified as other recruits.

“I adamantly refute that claim,” she wrote. “This is about my age.”