Sharon Coolidge

scoolidge@enquirer.com

For months, 35 Cincinnati police officers studied for an exam, seeking to be promoted to lieutenant. When the results were posted, and then certified by the city, two officers with the highest scores were set to be promoted this summer.

Except, it turns out, those cops did not score the highest. Two others did.

Now the city faces a series of questions, among them: Were black and white officers treated differently?

On the first list, based on wrong scores, for the most part black officers came out on top. When it was re-scored, white officers topped the list.

The Sentinels, a union of black police officers, have hired attorney Janaya Trotter Bratton to work with them as the city comes up with a solution.

"The Sentinels want to make sure each officers' score is the proper score," said Trotter Bratton, a lawyer with the civil rights law firm Gerhardstein & Branch. "Right now there are two different scores. We want to have an independent person who is not tied to the city or the company that made the mistake look at the test. We need to have confidence in the results. The Sentinels want equity and fairness."

Trotter Bratton said the ripple effect of the mistake Washington-based Ergometrics made has been upsetting to everyone involved.

"We have officers who told families that they had been promoted," she said. "Nobody is going to be happy because different people had the opportunity to be promoted. People's livelihood is attached to how the scores were sorted."

What should city do?

It's no easy task to decide now what would be fair.

* The list was certified by the city's Civil Service Commission with the wrong people in the top slots. Those officers say they should get the jobs.

* The officers on the new list, whose scores earned them the slots, say they deserve the promotions.

* Retaking the test -- which is difficult and stressful -- is an option. But some ask why should they re-take a test they already took?

It's a decision that affects not just these two jobs, but future openings. After the first two promotions, the next people in line are set to get future lieutenant job openings. And, after a certain amount of time, anyone who is a lieutenant can take the captain's test.

The city is in the midst of hiring an independent auditor to look at what happened. The Cincinnati Civil Service Commission, which oversees promotions, is for the third time set to discuss the issue at their meeting Thursday.

Police Chief Eliot Isaac spoke at the Aug. 11 Civil Service Commission meeting, telling the commission "based on the lack of confidence in the results" he believes a new test is needed -- and that it should be administered by the human resources department.

City Manager Harry Black said the city relies on an outside third party to ensure objectively and fairness.

"In this case, however, the outside contractor let us down," he said. "But, it happened. What's most critical now is how we respond to it and how we go about fixing it. Clearly, at the end of the day, all of the parties involved will need to come into agreement for a workable solution."

Black said the "worst case scenario" is to terminate the process and start all over again.

"Hopefully, it will allow us to fix the situation and avoid throwing entire process out and start from scratch," Black said.

Testing company accepts responsibility

The city has been using Ergometrics since 2012. The city contract with Ergometrics called for the company to be paid not more than $38,000 to administer and score the lieutenant's test. The company has waived that fee and the city is not expected to work with the company again.

Trotter Bratton praised the Civil Service Commission for taking a serious interest in making sure the process was fair and transparent.

"I think it is entirely reasonable and for the officers to expect that the test they take be administered fairly and evaluated accurately," Civil Service Commission board member Betty Hull said. "The Civil Service Commission is in the process of reviewing if that standard was met and then determining what to do if it wasn't."

Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #69 President Dan Hils said union members are disappointed.

"I think there is an expectation that when we enter into the process that it will be fair," Hils said. "These jobs don't come open very often, it's very competitive. People are disappointed. They are holding up their end of the bargain, working hard, then the city drops the ball on the authenticity of the testing process.

Hils would not say what he thinks should happen next since it is not his decision to make.

The FOP has filed a grievance on behalf officers whose scores were posted inaccurately. The grievance alleges no promotion came while the list was active.

Ultimately the commission must decide on how to proceed. Their next meeting is Aug. 25.

The test was needed when two of the city's 48 lieutenant jobs came open. The previous test had expired; results are valid for 12 months.

Lieutenants make up much of the command staff, leading the five districts and special units like homicide.

The test is comprised of a multiple choice portion, a technical knowledge portion, a writing exercise and oral presentation, given between May 6 and June 10. Sixty people applied; 35 people completed all portions. Ergometrics specializes in hiring and training, according to its website.

The list was posted June 30, immediately prompting questions from people who thought they had done better than their scores suggested.

A review showed problems with scoring.

"Ergometrics accepts all responsibility for scoring errors made on the City of Cincinnati promotional process," Ergometrics and Applied Personnel Inc. President Carl Swander wrote to the city's human resources director on July 21.

He explained that exam scores did not include the results of two questions and that scores were mismatched to officers, resulting in an inaccurate list. Officers are ranked by score, with promotions given to the people with the top scores.

"In this situation, Ergometric's standard procedures designed to prevent errors weren't followed, causing these errors to occur," Swander wrote.

In late July, company officials flew to Cincinnati and went over exams with candidates to assure them the new scores were correct.

"We sincerely apologize for the trouble this was caused," Swander wrote. "Ergometrics and the consultants that worked on this project, completely understand the critical nature of public safety promotional exams."

Department rank (highest to lowest):

Chief

Colonel

Captain

Lieutenant

Sergeant