Nation IN BRIEF / CONNECTICUT : High IQ Score Keeps Man Off Police Force

A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by a man who was deemed too smart to be a New London, Conn., police officer. U.S. District Judge Peter C. Dorsey said the Police Department’s rejection of Robert Jordan because he scored too high on an intelligence test did not violate his rights. The city’s rationale for the long-standing practice is that candidates who score too high could soon get bored and quit after undergoing costly academy training. Dorsey said: “The question is not whether a rational basis has been shown for the policy chosen by defendants. Plaintiff may have been disqualified unwisely, but he was not denied equal protection.” Jordan, 48, scored a 33, the equivalent of an IQ of 125. The average score nationally for police officers, as well as office workers, bank tellers and salespeople, is 21 to 22, the equivalent of an IQ of 104.