Five white male Philadelphia police officers have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the City of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Department, and several senior officials, alleging they were denied promotions due to their race and sex under the department’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies.
The lawsuit, filed by America First Legal (AFL), claims the officers were passed over for captain and lieutenant positions in November in favor of lower-ranked non-white or female candidates, despite higher civil-service exam scores, strong service records, positive performance reviews, and extensive law enforcement experience.
The plaintiffs, Christopher Bloom, Kollin Berg, Joseph Musumeci, Marc Monachello, and Leroy Ziegler Jr., argue that the city’s “Rule of Five” policy, adopted in 2021 after the death of George Floyd, allows officials to bypass merit-based rankings to prioritize racial and gender diversity.
This replaced the previous “Rule of Two,” which required selections from the top two candidates based on exam scores, seniority, and education.
According to the complaint, the policy was implemented to increase minority and female representation in supervisory roles at the expense of white men.
In the 2025 promotions, 10 officers were elevated to the rank of captain and 14 to lieutenant. The suit alleges that only half of the captain promotions went to white males, despite white males making up 70 percent of the top 10 candidates and 73 percent of the top 15 by test scores.
Specific examples include three plaintiffs ranked 8th to 13th on the captain list being bypassed for a candidate ranked 17th, and two on the lieutenant list (27th and 28th) overlooked while 15 lower-ranked candidates were selected, including those as low as 30th and 34th.
The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as potential damages, and aims to represent all white male officers affected since 2021.
AFL Senior Counsel Nick Barry stated in a press release, “Federal civil-rights law prohibits employers from making promotion decisions based on race or sex.”
Barry continued, “Put simply, employers cannot use protected characteristics to override merit. Promotions must be based on excellence, experience, and performance, not on the race or sex of the candidate.”
The press release added,”AFL is committed to rooting out and destroying DEI in the United States, and it will sue any public or private employer that uses illegal race or sex preferences in hiring or promotions. Hiring and other employment practices must be based on merit and excellence. AFL will fight on behalf of American workers to ensure that individuals are hired and promoted based on their skills and not their race or sex.”
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