A Hoopy Frood

cognitivedissonance:

This is not The Onion. In New London, Conn., you apparently can be too smart to be a cop:

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.

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.

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

I believe this is fairly revealing. I would also argue it may not be a matter of being bored with police work. More intelligent officers might question superiors, and orders they believe in violation of the US Constitution and their training. It appears the ideal cop for New London, Conn. is a person who is intelligent enough to absorb training, but not too smart. It’s Goldilocks - this one was too dumb, this one was too smart, but this one is just right.

I’m glad I have already started drinking