Officials defending scandal-plagued NYPD lieutenants exam agree to regrade
City officials who had been defending the results of a scandal scarred Lieutenants police exam backed down Monday and agreed to regrade it rather than continue fighting a lawsuit over it.
Lawyers battling over the test told a state judge in Manhattan that they had reached an agreement: All sergeants who got at least 65 will have their tests regraded and all will get credit for five controversial questions -- whether they answered them correctly, incorrectly or gave no answer at all.
A group of sergeants who got less than the passing grade of 70 had challenged the test, partly on the grounds that the city had failed to warn people, as required by law, that the subject matter embedded in those questions would be included on the exhaustive, all day exam.
Last week, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Margaret Chan told the lawyers that she was sympathetic to that argument. Chan, who has blocked the PD from making promotions off the current list, urged the lawyers to make a deal rather than engage in a protracted legal battle that could take years to resolve.
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Randolph McLaughlin, the Newman Ferrara lawyer who represented the sergeants challenging the test, said the net result is that "a significant number" of sergeants will be added to the list of those eligible for promotion.
"Our clients took a lot of heat (for filing a lawsuit). Now they're being heralded as heroes," he said, because the deal helps others in a similar situation with his clients.
He said the settlement also insures that the 204 sergeants already on the eligible list will stay on the list, and some of those, who answered the five questions incorrectly, could even be bumped up the list with a higher score.
John Siegal, a Baker Hostetler attorney who represented 123 sergeants already on the list, agreed that some of his clients might go up the list but some also could be dropped lower as a result of the deal.
Earlier this year, the NYPD notified 60 sergeants on the list that they would be promoted this month. Siegal said some now might have to wait longer for their promotions, but "we are confident that all those already notified" will get bumped up eventually.
In addition to regrading the exams, the city Department of Citywide Administrative Services has to reweight the list. Candidates for promotion are ranked on a weighted average that includes their test scores, their length of service with the NYPD, commendations on the job and any military service.
The lawyers said the city estimates it will take six to eight weeks to come up with a new list.
The settlement does not deal with the controversy over cheating on the exam.
Several city agencies, including the NYPD and Department of Investigation, are looking at reports that some sergeants passed make up exams after questions were posted on the internet.
"That's for others to resolve," McLaughlin said.
"We hope this case is a wakeup call" for the city to look at how all civil service exams are administered, McLaughlin's partner Debra Cohen said.
There was no immediate comment from city officials.
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