LA Times: Police union files claim over SWAT changes (affirmative action for females)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-swat22mar22,1,5250110.story

The action seeks to overturn new standards that were partly intended to open the unit to female officers.
By Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 22, 2008

The union representing the Los Angeles Police Department's 9,300 rank-and-file officers filed an unfair labor practices claim Friday that seeks to overturn recent changes in the SWAT team's rigorous selection process -- changes that were partly intended to open the elite unit to female officers.

The claim is the latest challenge to Chief William J. Bratton's efforts to expand the SWAT selection process.

Last week The Times obtained a year-old confidential report from a panel that recommended that the department make the Special Weapons and Tactics Team more accessible to women. No woman has succeeded in passing SWAT's grueling physical test since its formation in 1971.

The advisory panel was formed by Bratton to conduct a sweeping review of SWAT after a chaotic 2005 operation in Watts, when officers inadvertently killed a 19-month-old girl during a shootout with her deranged father -- the only time SWAT has killed a hostage.

In the wake of the panel's advice, the Los Angeles Police Protective League alleges that the department unilaterally changed the SWAT team selection process on Feb. 1 without consulting with the union as is required by city law.

FULL story at link.

[kestrel91316]

1. LAPD is filled with old-school sexists, and Bratton is a breath of fresh air.

I hope the union does NOT prevail. And I hope every single female LAPD member QUITS the union over this. Shame.

[selador]

2. i agree with the union

"No woman has succeeded in passing SWAT's grueling physical test since its formation in 1971."

that;s unfortunate, but lowering standards for SWAT (or lowering standards PERIOD) is not the way to go.

fwiw, i used to be a personal trainer, and i once trained a woman to get her to the level where she could pass the SWAT test for her dept. most swat tests are going to be difficult for women to pass (moreso than men) because women are on average, weaker, especially in regards to upper body strength as related to overall body weight.

this makes exercises such as a pullups, much more difficult for women to do. for example, most of my male trainees routinely get up to 20 pullups (with no kip) and routinely do pullups with added weight of 45 lbs for at least 8 reps.

the ability to pull oneself over ledges and be strong relative to bodyweight is a necessary strength component for tactical officers.

i do not care what the gender of a fellow officer is. only that he/she can do the job. i never worked SWAT , although i did work a tactical raid unit, and there needs to be ONE standard - gender, age, race, etc. is irrelevant. as long as the standard can be shown to have relevance to the tasks performed .

there was a big problem (imo) a ways back with some fire dept's lowering strength standards (dummy drags) in bids to recruit more women. if you are stuck in a building and need to be dragged out, would you CARE what the gender of the firefighter was? no. you just want to be dragged out.

i weigh 210 lbs. if a firefighter can;'t drag me, they shouldn't be a firefighter. period.

fwiw, i have trained with (i used to train olympic style weightlifting and also powerlifting) some of the strongest women in the country. women who can squat over 300lbs, deadlift over 350 lbs and clean and jerk nearly twice their bodyweight. stronger than the VAST majority of men. any of these women could pass the SWAT test fwiw.

but the sad fact of physiology is that women ARE going to have to be sigificantly farther advanced relative to the female fitness/strength average to be able to pass a SWAT test than a man, because they are on average signficianly weaker (especially in regards ot upper body strength as related to overall bw).

women tend to do pretty good at powerlifting and olympic style weightlifting, but even the elite women could not even break into the college ranks of male athletes.

nobody is claiming a SWAT officer needs to clean and jerk 350 lbs. but strength DOES matter, as does endurance, etc.

my agency requires (iirc) 8 dead hang pullups.

i know several women who can do 8 dead hangs, but none are cops.