Bias Alleged in Torrance Police, Fire Departments : Hiring: Federal investigators find that entry-level examinations were not lawful. City officials say restrictive policies have deterred their ability to recruit minorities.

A federal inquiry has revealed that the Torrance police and fire departments have engaged in a pattern of discrimination by not hiring enough blacks, Latinos and Asians and that black police employees have been subjected to derogatory comments from white supervisors.

In a Nov. 5 letter to the city made public this week, Assistant Atty. Gen. John R. Dunne said Torrance had either refused or failed to employ minorities on an equal basis with Anglos.

In addition, investigators determined that written examinations given by the police and fire departments for entry-level positions were not lawful under the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

City officials dispute the findings but are meeting with Department of Justice representatives to discuss a consent agreement that would avoid a federal civil rights lawsuit against Torrance.

The findings stem from an investigation of the city’s hiring practices that began in May, 1991. Department of Justice officials declined comment on the case, and it is unclear what prompted the federal investigation.

However, City Atty. Kenneth L. Nelson said the conclusions of the federal inquiry came as a surprise to city officials.

“In so many respects, we feel that we met all of the guidelines that the Justice Department has,” Nelson said. “This was a real surprise to us because of the way we operate the city. The city is not operated in the way that they are saying.”

Nelson said the Police Department uses a standardized test that is also utilized by numerous law enforcement agencies throughout the state. The Fire Department exam, Nelson said, was purchased from a firm that specializes in devising tests for municipalities.

“They make it as bias-free as possible,” Nelson said, stressing that the city is doing all it can to improve its hiring of minorities.

Of the 233 sworn officers in the Police Department, three (1.2%) are black, 15 (6.4%) are Latino and six (2.5%) are Asian, according to the Department of Justice. Of the 160 Fire Department employees, one (.6%) is black and two (1.2%) are Latino. There are no Asian employees in the Fire Department.

By contrast, the latest U.S. Census figures reflect a more diverse city. Of Torrance’s 133,000 residents, 22% are Asian, 10% are Latino and 1.7% are black.

The police and fire department employment figures drew fire from NAACP officials in Compton.

“That’s not too good, is it? Three blacks out of 233 police officers is not a good number,” said Royce Esters, president of the Compton chapter of the NAACP, which is already involved in a discrimination dispute between the city and a group of bus drivers.

“I’m not saying that’s discrimination, but it sure looks like it” in both departments, Esters said.

Some officials questioned the accuracy of the Department of Justice figures but could not provide their own figures reflecting a more balanced racial mix in the departments. Nelson said the city is in the process of compiling its own employment figures for fire and police.

Fire Chief R. Scott Adams said his recruitment of minorities had been hampered by the city’s civil service “rule of three,” which says that only candidates with the top three test scores for a job can be interviewed.

The City Council last year approved changing that rule for the Fire Department in favor of a “banding” stipulation, which allows the department to interview a grouping, or band, of candidates who score above 90%. The rule change enabled the Fire Department to recently interview 116 candidates for 16 positions, Adams said.

“Contrary to what that (Department of Justice) report says, I believe the problem all along has been the rule of three,” Adams said. “I believe that has been solved with banding. Banding has given me the opportunity to (consider) a broader range of qualified candidates.”

Police Chief Joseph C. De Ladurantey said he would like have the city approve a similar policy for his department. He said the Police Department for several years has been actively attempting to recruit minority officers, including advertising in ethnic newspapers.

“We’re in a situation where we’re constantly competing with other cities who are under similar pressures,” De Ladurantey said. “Everybody’s competing for, quite frankly, a small number of qualified applicants.”

De Ladurantey said neither police nor city administrators were ever informed of alleged racial slurs directed at the department’s black employees.

“That came as a total surprise to us,” De Ladurantey said. “That one came out of left field. We’re going to have discuss it with (the Department of Justice).”

The allegations of discrimination follow charges by a group of 50 Torrance city bus drivers that the firings of six of their colleagues during a two-week period in August and September were racially motivated. City officials have met with the drivers and the Compton NAACP to investigate the complaints.