A man whose bid to become a police officer was rejected after he scored too high on an intelligence test has lost an appeal in his federal lawsuit against the city.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York upheld a lower court’s decision that the city did not discriminate against Robert Jordan because the same standards were applied to everyone who took the test.

“This kind of puts an official face on discrimination in America against people of a certain class,” Jordan said today from his Waterford home. “I maintain you have no more control over your basic intelligence than your eye color or your gender or anything else.”

He said he does not plan to take any further legal action.

Jordan, a 49-year-old college graduate, took the exam in 1996 and scored 33 points, the equivalent of an IQ of 125. But New London police interviewed only candidates who scored 20 to 27, on the theory that those who scored too high could get bored with police work and leave soon after undergoing costly training.

Most Cops Just Above Normal

The average score nationally for police officers is 21 to 22, the equivalent of an IQ of 104, or just a little above average.

Jordan alleged his rejection from the police force was discrimination. He sued the city, saying his civil rights were violated because he was denied equal protection under the law.

But the U.S. District Court found that New London had “shown a rational basis for the policy.” In a ruling dated Aug. 23, the 2nd Circuit agreed. The court said the policy might be unwise but was a rational way to reduce job turnover.

Jordan has worked as a prison guard since he took the test.

First of all, it’s a little stupid to claim that because he scored too high on the intelligence test, he would get bored with police work. There is so much wrong with this…I’m just going to jump in it in no specific order.

1) How do they know he would get bored? This sounds more like a psychological profile than it does a limitation on intelligence. In fact, maybe because he’s so intelligent, he would actually like the job better and perform better than his peers. Maybe that’s what the police in New York (and their terrorist union organization) are afraid of?

2) Being smart does not mean you’re automatically going to get bored with being a police officer. Highly intelligent people often like doing monotonous work because it takes their mind off of constant thinking and challenge. It allows them to relax a little. Being smart is not a toy they play with - it’s who they are inside 24/7. It can be a burden. You see, it contrasts their personality which makes this type of work such a nice fit. Occasionally, the job may provide opportunities to utilize those special talents that he has. To me, turning this man down for having such a high intelligence is equivalent to turning a man down because he has x-ray vision. Like the court said, “it’s not wise”.

3) High intelligence should be a prerequisite for ANYONE who has the purported authority to arrest, imprison, assault, and kill you. That one is a no-fucking-brainer.

4) If they’re using psychology to evaluate police officers, yet so many are prone to failure, corruption and criminal behavior, perhaps their psychological exams are complete bullshit? Or maybe they want bad people to be cops. Though, it’s worth pointing out that psychology and psychiatry are NOT sciences.

5) You’ve got to have a raging, steroid brute sometimes, don’t you? Unfortunately, it seems we have mostly brutes for police officers and very few of them with brains. After all, police departments operate like businesses. Having too many intelligent people on board is bad for business because it reduces waste. “Waste” in this conversation is better described as “surplus funding”.

6) The guy said that most officers score just above the national average. Please take into consideration that it’s the only answer they CAN give. Consider what it would look like if they said “Most of our officers score below the average”. Of course, that would be embarrassing. They can’t actually say “most our officers score well above the average” because then we would all know they are liars. They can’t say “We show the same average as the rest of the country” because that would still be less than impressive. Their response that the average intelligence of their police officers is just a little above the national average says that they’re not anxious to improve that rating and that they seem to be content with a mediocre score.

Personally, I think they’re lying. It’s always about the money.

It’s not the nap that I have a problem with because, like with most jobs, you are entitled to a break and if you want to use it taking a nap, that’s your business. The problem that I have is the fact that he’s parked in the emergency lane on a highway. He’s creating a danger to himself, other motorists and increasing the liability of the departments insurance provider, which in turn increases the tax rate to the citizens. This is negligence and blatant hypocrisy.

As a side note, did you know that you can be arrested, have your car impounded, and be fined for driving while sleepy? Apparently, that rule, like many others, only applies to citizens and not the police.

This right here! THIS RIGHT HERE… is one of the critical sources of the entire police brutality problem. Right fucking here! No shit.

If most police score lower than the general population, what kind and how many problems could that potentially cause?

The only argument I can think of to necessitate below average officers is that, if your life is in danger, you’re going to want a bull-headed brute to come rescue you. Though, that argument is very weak. Police rarely, if ever, rescue someone.