Afro American Patrolmens League V. Duck

This civil rights action is concerned with requirements for promotion within the police department of Toledo, Ohio. The plaintiffs in the district court were two black patrolmen and an association open to all members of the Toledo safety forces, with a membership composed largely of black policemen. Both of the individual plaintiffs have taken examinations for promotion to sergeant in the Toledo Police Department on a number of occasions, and each has passed the examination several times. However, neither of the individual plaintiffs has been promoted to sergeant. The defendants are the chief of police, the city manager, the safety director, the members of the Toledo Civil Service Commission and its executive director. The complaint alleges violations of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983 and 42 U.S.C. § 2000d in addition to denial of constitutional rights guaranteed by the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.