Md. State Police to Relax Testing Standards as Part of New Consent Decree

The Maryland State Police said it will relax its physical testing standards for new troopers and develop alternate hiring tests as part of a new consent decree and settlement, with $2.75 million going to prospective troopers who were discriminated against.

MSP Superintendent Roland Butler outlined some of the changes for the first time Wednesday as state officials approved the settlement payments, concluding a two-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The consent decree is subject to approval in federal court and was filed Wednesday afternoon. It describes “a pattern or practice of unintentional discrimination against African-American and female applicants” through both written and physical tests since at least 2017.

“While the DOJ’s investigation found that discrimination practices were unintentional, the fact remains that 48 men and women were deprived of the opportunity to serve and protect their communities, and they were done so unjustly,” Butler told the Maryland Board of Public Works.

The probe involved a comprehensive investigation into state police hiring practices. It followed years of complaints from Black troopers about racial discrimination and unfair treatment around hiring, discipline and promotions.

The investigation confirmed “discriminatory hiring practices that wrongfully disqualified Black and female state trooper candidates,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Marquardt said at the meeting in Annapolis.

Officials did not explain the explicit details of the unfair procedures at Wednesday’s meeting, but the consent decree filed later in U.S. District Court says at least 19 additional Black applicants would have been hired if not for the “disparate impact” of the written test and at least 29 female applicants would have been hired if not for the same impact of the physical test.

Butler said the agreement includes using a vendor recommended by the Justice Department to develop a new “entry level testing process” that “aligns with the duties and the requirements of being a Maryland state trooper.” It will include “aptitude testing related to integrity, self-motivation, independence, critical thinking and judgment skills,” he said.

The tests will not be available for the next two classes of recruits that are planned for January and next July, Butler said, leading to multiple questions from Comptroller Brooke Lierman and Treasurer Dereck Davis — both Board of Public Works members, along with Gov. Wes Moore — about continuing the discriminatory testing in the meantime.

Butler said the Justice Department is allowing the agency to continue the current tests with some alterations and “strict monitoring.”

He said state police will be “relaxing the standards” for physical tests — mainly, removing the timing requirements within a test involving push-ups, sit-ups and a 1.5-mile run. Court documents described the existing requirements as 18 push-ups in one minute, 27 sit-ups in one minute, running the 1.5 miles in 15 minutes and 20 seconds, pulling a trigger 10 times with each hand and reaching about 1.5 inches beyond the applicant’s shoes while seated. The pass-rate for women has been less than 80% of the pass-rate for men, according to court documents.

“The DOJ looked at it, and we agree with them … these are not essential to the functions of a Maryland State trooper,” Butler said.

Pushing back on questions from Davis about why the physical tests need to be included at all if they’re not essential, Butler said the recruits are going into “an intensive 26-week academy that will involve physical exertion. So we want to see where they are.”

Asked further by Davis whether the changes will lead to subjective and potentially “more discriminatory” evaluations, Butler said the agency was less concerned about the timing than about “what the baseline is for that individual’s fitness before they start the academy.”

“The academy is intensive,” Butler said. “A lot of people do not make it through the first week.”

The written test, meanwhile, includes 10 to 25 questions in four categories each: math, reading comprehension, grammar and report writing. Applicants must score 70% on all of them combined, and the pass-rate for applicants who are Black has been less than 80% of the pass-rate for applicants who are white.

The settlement money will be available to applicants who are Black and who were disqualified by the written test or if they are female and were disqualified by the physical test. The agency must also give priority hiring consideration to up to 25 applicants, who will also receive retroactive seniority and hiring bonuses in lieu of pension credits, according to court documents.

Maryland State Police did not respond to follow-up questions from The Baltimore Sun about potential changes, beyond the timing of the physical tests, in the interim period before the new tests are finalized.

Sgt. Anthony Alexander, president of the Coalition of Black Maryland State Troopers, said he was pleased with the Justice Department’s investigation and the changes that will come from it. But he stressed that the agency’s problems go beyond hiring tests and more internal changes are needed to improve recruitment and retention.

“Why do we have to wait until something’s happening [legally] in order to make things move? That’s the problem that we have right now,” Alexander said.

As the settlement process moves forward following the Justice Department probe, a separate proposed class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Black troopers is moving through federal court.

The plaintiffs in that suit are three current and former troopers who are Black and who alleged a longstanding pattern of discrimination through discipline, retaliation and the denial of promotions. They requested changes to the agency’s policies, an independent monitor to oversee the department and relief including monetary compensation, expunged discipline, reinstatements and promotions for those determined to have been discriminated against.

The Sun also previously detailed, in June 2022, an explicit challenge coin with the Maryland State Police logo and offensive language.

Butler, the first leader of the state police who is Black, was appointed by Moore in early 2023 after a 28-year career with the agency. Butler vowed to reform the agency but lawmakers who were concerned about promoting from within the troubled police force put conditions on his confirmation, including temporarily withholding funding until Butler reported on his progress.

He said at Wednesday’s meeting that he and his team have “worked intensely over the past 20 months to evaluate and modernize our practices, to renew commitment to transparency and accountability and to uplift the culture of policing in the spirit of strength and service.”

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