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46 Stan. L. Rev. 1717 (1993-1994)
Psychological Health Tests for Violence-Prone Police Officers: Objectives, Shortcomings, and Alternatives

handle is hein.journals/stflr46 and id is 1731 raw text is: Psychological Health Tests for Violence- Prone Police Officers: Objectives, Shortcomings, and Alternatives Michelle A. Travis* The beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles focused public attention on the issue of police brutality and sparked a debate about how police departments might avoid similar incidents in the future. In this note, Michelle A. Travis examines one response: psychological tests that purport to identify and screen out potentially violent individuals before they are hired as police officers. Sur- veying the tests most frequently used by police departments, Ms. Travis con- cludes not only that the tests are unreliable, but also that their use in employment decisions may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act by targeting a mental disability. She concludes by suggesting alternatives to psy- chological testing that avoid the scientific and legal pitfalls of behavior predic- tion and focus on addressing the job-related stress and other situational factors that may trigger police violence. INTRODUCTION In June 1989, a Memphis county sheriff repeatedly kicked twenty-eight- year-old Michael Gates, then violently choked him to death.' The sheriff sus- pected Gates of a drug violation. In February 1991, five New York City police officers forced twenty-one-year-old Federico Pereira face down on the ground, cuffed his wrists behind his back, and allegedly kicked, choked, and suffocated him to death. The officers suspected Pereira of stealing a car.2 And in April 1991, a New Jersey police officer interrupted fourteen-year-old Uriah Hannah while he was playing on a sidewalk near his home and allegedly choked him until his parents intervened to stop the abuse. The officer claimed that Hannah was obstructing traffic with his remote-controlled toy car.3 While few people have heard of Federico Pereira, Michael Gates, or Uriah Hannah, almost no one will forget that on March 3, 1991, Los Angeles police * J.D., Stanford Law School; B.A., Psychology, Cornell University. I would like to thank Profes- sor Henry Greely for his helpful comments on earlier drafts of this note, my colleagues on the Stanford Law Review for their thorough editing and insightful suggestions, and my fiane6, Richard Dickson, for his endless patience, support, and encouragemenL 1. This conclusion is drawn from Richard Lacayo, Law and Disorder, TLMF, Apr. 1, 1991, at 18, 19, which reported that Michael Gates' body was covered with shoe-shaped bruises. 2. Id. 3. Id. at 19-20. 1717

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