Fund Set Up to Pay Blacks Denied Jobs as Police Officers : Racial bias: $200,000 earmarked to resolve federal suit. City denies wrongdoing but says it’s cheaper to settle than to fight.

Responding to allegations of racial bias against blacks in hiring and assigning of police officers, the city of Pomona has agreed to pay up to $160,000 in compensation to applicants who were discriminated against and to add $40,000 to its affirmative-action budget.

The city’s commitment in the form of a consent decree was filed Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court as part of a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit against the city. The action would resolve the complaint, subject to approval by the court.

City officials denied Justice Department allegations of a pattern of employment discrimination against blacks by the Police Department, but they said it is cheaper to settle the suit than fight it.

“We’ve never received any documentation that we discriminated against anyone,” said City Administrator Julio Fuentes, but “it would be costly to litigate” the issue.

Personnel Director Browning Allen said the allegations center on a written examination that the city formerly gave to police applicants. Allen said the city attempted to improve the exam over the years by striking out questions that were missed by a disproportionate number of minority applicants. But the failure rate among blacks remained high, he said.

Allen said the city neglected to document that the questions asked on the test were pertinent to police work. Thus, the validity of the test could be challenged, he said.

Since June 30, 1990, Allen said, the city has been using a validated entrance test for police recruitment.

Under terms of the settlement, any black who failed the written examination from 1985 through June 30, 1990, may file a claim. Allen said 122 blacks are in that category, according to city records.

The city has agreed to give priority hiring to up to 10 claimants who failed the entrance exam but can now demonstrate that they meet the city’s minimum qualifications as police officers. The city is not required to increase the police force, but it must hire the eligible applicants as jobs become open.

The Justice Department will evaluate all the claims and determine who among the group of 122 deserves compensation, or back pay, from the $160,000 fund. In addition, black police officers currently on the force who believe they have been denied special assignments because of their race may submit claims for compensation.

Fuentes and Police Chief Lloyd Wood said they are unaware of any police employees who have alleged racial bias in assignment policies.

Until the claims are filed and evaluated, it will not be known how many applicants or current police officers are eligible for compensation.

“It could be that no one qualifies and all the money (the $160,000 fund) will come back to the city,” Fuentes said.

Justice Department attorneys declined to discuss the case beyond the information contained in court documents, which do not offer evidence of discrimination.

The city currently has eight blacks among its 149 police officers below the management level. It also has 15 Latinos and three Asians. There are no blacks at the management level.

Pomona’s population is 13.6% black, according to the 1990 census. Although the percentage of black officers, about 5% of the force, is below the population percentage, Allen said the number is close to the number of blacks available for this kind of job in the regional labor pool, which is 6.2% black.

Although there is no quota involved, the consent decree requires the city to provide regular reports to the federal government on its minority hiring over the next three years.

The agreement to spend $40,000 on minority recruitment is in addition to the current affirmative-action budget of $36,000 a year.

Fuentes said the city wants to hire more minorities.

“This Administration is strongly supportive of affirmative action,” he said.

Fuentes said the Justice Department has been looking at Pomona’s hiring practices for at least three years.

Last month, the Justice Department sued the city of El Monte alleging discrimination in hiring and recruiting police officers and firefighters. The city of Alhambra settled a similar complaint in June by setting up a $180,000 fund to compensate anyone who was discriminated against.