Oct. 2 (UPI) — The U.S. Justice Department has taken steps to resolve allegations of racial and gender-based discriminatory hiring practices in Maryland’s state police, according to a Wednesday announcement from the department.
DOJ officials announced that the federal government has reached an agreement with Maryland’s Department of State Police to settle claims that MDSP’s hiring process for state troopers was discriminatory in nature and in violation of the Civil Rights Act.
Equal opportunities for employment in law enforcement “are not just a core civil right, but essential to ensuring that those who serve reflect the rich racial and gender diversity of the communities they are sworn to protect,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said Wednesday in a DOJ news release .
The investigation alleged that Maryland’s hiring process to join the state police, which included a written test and a physical fitness portion, discriminated against both women and Black candidates who sought employment.