Thurgood Marshal Federal Courthouse.

Today, United States District Court Judge Paul E. Engelmayer ordered the Plaintiffs and the City of New York to appear before him on March 28, 2016, at 4 p.m. in Courtroom 1305 of the Thurgood Marshal United States Courthouse for a hearing on Plaintiffs request to stop the City from promoting sergeants who may have cheated on the Lieutenant Promotion exam in 2015. On March 24th nine sergeants who took the exam sued the City and sought an injunction to freeze those promotions. In the Complaint, Plaintiffs alleged that there was numerous opportunities for cheating on the exam. Cell phone or electronic devices were not taken from test takers. Proctors frequently left the exam rooms unattended. And perhaps most seriously, the exam answers were posted on a police website (rising star) before the dates for the make up exams. Not surprisingly, over 40% of the make up test takers passed; while less than 8% of the original test takers passed. The NYPD is investigating whether there was widespread cheating on the exam.

Commenting on the judge’s order, Lead Plaintiff Sergeant Jonathan Blatt said, “We are pleased that the Court has scheduled a hearing in this case. We filed this suit to protect the integrity of the promotion process, and hope that the Court agrees with us.” One of the attorneys representing the Plaintiffs’ in the class action suit said, “The issue here is a simple one – should cheaters be promoted. We do not believe that promoting cheaters to command positions serves the public or the police department.

Copies of the order and the papers filed today are hyperlinked below:

Blatt, et al v City of New York, et al

and

Blatt v City of New York complaint_efiled