KKK Reputation Said To Hamper Police Recruitment in Frederick County

Frederick County's lingering reputation as a Ku Klux Klan stronghold is hurting the Frederick City Police Department's efforts to reach minority hiring goals specified in a 1993 consent decree, a consultant says. Twelve years after the agreement was signed to settle a discrimination lawsuit, the department remains far short of the goal of increasing the number of black officers to match the percentage of black city residents, according to a report by Personnel Performances Inc. The San Diego-based firm found that there were nine black officers on the city's 135-member police force, The Frederick News-Post reported Wednesday. The department needs to hire at least seven more blacks to meet goals outlined in the agreement, the consultants said. Although the department has made strides, including putting a black officer in charge of personnel, "there is still a perception of it being Klan country," consultant Terry Eisenberg said. "It's not universal, but enough people bring it up that it still hangs out there. [more]