Background Investigation, Interview, COLD.

[Veteran617]

Hello,

This is my first post and I would like to first thank this communitee for existing!

I have been in search for a post with similar attributes, although, I have been having a hard time finding a newer (2022) Edition

My process has been smooth ever since my written exam. I scored decently high, got a few vacancy notices right away and applied to my town where I have now lived 3 concurrent years.

I did my fingerprints, and then my background.

in my background the investigator found that I had some numbers that didn't match up for my taxes (Im a landlord of a 2 unit apartment) and I was over expensing my money spent to upgrade the units. I let them know the truth which was that I go to my tax guy, tell them what I spend yearly and they do the rest. We got past that question seemlessly but it was asked.

In the interview I was also asked about my DUI from 5 years ago, where I was let off with a CWOF. I told them the truth, including that it was the biggest mistake of my life.
I had recalled that I hadn't smoked weed since High School but the state troopers said that I said that I was high that night as well. (I don't recall but that night was a blur)
I'm unsure if they believed me but that is the truth.

These were my two questions that I struggled with but answered to the best of my knowledge.

It was a solid interview in my opinion. I saw the Lieutenants nodding affirmatively to alot of my answers and I felt very confident.

They have 6 seats available, and the interview email only contained 6 candidates (We started with 10)


Its been 5 weeks now and I haven't heard anything. I sent a very kind (CAREFULLY WORDED) Email thanking them for the opportunity and such, but I didn't get a response.

Did I get overlooked? I was wondering because I have a friend who has domestic violence and got a letter in the mail to Appeal his application.

I haven't received any letters but I also haven't received any emails.

is it possible that they didn't say no, but they aren't going to say yes either?


Thank you in advance for reading this far!

[NolaT]

Five weeks is nothing,…….sit tight, and don’t contact them again; it’s a process.

Good luck and keep us updated!

[just joe]

No news is good news, especially if your friend received a letter (assuming he applied at the same place.) In my experience, no one is forgotten, and everyone gets contacted letting them know if they are moving on in the process or not. Unless you applied to a department with a dedicated recruiting section, hiring processes are completed between other tasks and assignments as time allows.

[Aidokea]

It's another bot- look at the grammar.

[NolaT]

It's another bot- look at the grammar.

Aren’t most pretty short?

[Aidokea]

Not this one, apparently.

Also note that it hasn't been logged in since three minutes after making that post.

[NolaT]

We’ll see,……

[Veteran617]

I am not a Bot.

Thank you for the replies! I received my letter of ByPass in the mail today.

The department was hiring (5) and I was number (6) out of the 6. All others were hired according to my letter that I received. Also, they mentioned everything I posted here about my background and mentioned those descrepencies were hindering my chances but the main reason was that the other 5 candidates had completely squeaky clean records, higher GPA, and never had any troubles.

I am disappointed. Truly. I was a product of my environment growing up. I am a minority, hispanic and would get pulled over simply because it was a Honda Civic and a spanish person driving it.

I have since moved away from the city and have never been pulled over ever since. Things have changed and my clean record (Since my DUI) shows my growth as a human.

Academically, I have advanced extremely. I went to college for a short amount of time and paintained a 3.0+ GPA but dropped out because I needed a job during rough times. In my letter the Chief said "I can sense that you have a true desire to be a police officer but in comparison to the other candidates, we had to bypass you for the position."

My question is.. will they ever call me again when there's another opening?
Should I appeal it even though there aren't any more positions this year?
Will appealing it secure me another shot or will I look silly?

I wanted to appeal it because the discrepencies are not only minor, but mostly untrue. With me forgetting to mention that I smoked during my DUI is something any normal human being would forget blacked out drunk.. (This doesn't excuse my mistake but I didn't lie)

Yes, Im not perfect. I grew up in Boston, MA alongside gang violence, guns, and dead bodies piling up daily. The fact that I left the city with a DUI is probably the most impressive thing in the world to me.

Yes, my GPA is below average, but compared to other candidates, I grew up hard, seen it all, learned from my mistakes, BOUGHT a house at 26, while half of the candidates still live with their parents.

I feel like my integrity was overlooked and shadowed by my mistakes as a kid. Im so disappointed..

[Aidokea]

I am not a Bot.

Thank you for the replies! I received my letter of ByPass in the mail today.

The department was hiring (5) and I was number (6) out of the 6. All others were hired according to my letter that I received. Also, they mentioned everything I posted here about my background and mentioned those descrepencies were hindering my chances but the main reason was that the other 5 candidates had completely squeaky clean records, higher GPA, and never had any troubles.

I am disappointed. Truly. I was a product of my environment growing up. I am a minority, hispanic and would get pulled over simply because it was a Honda Civic and a spanish person driving it.

I have since moved away from the city and have never been pulled over ever since. Things have changed and my clean record (Since my DUI) shows my growth as a human.

Academically, I have advanced extremely. I went to college for a short amount of time and paintained a 3.0+ GPA but dropped out because I needed a job during rough times. In my letter the Chief said "I can sense that you have a true desire to be a police officer but in comparison to the other candidates, we had to bypass you for the position."

My question is.. will they ever call me again when there's another opening?
Should I appeal it even though there aren't any more positions this year?
Will appealing it secure me another shot or will I look silly?

I wanted to appeal it because the discrepencies are not only minor, but mostly untrue. With me forgetting to mention that I smoked during my DUI is something any normal human being would forget blacked out drunk.. (This doesn't excuse my mistake but I didn't lie)

Yes, Im not perfect. I grew up in Boston, MA alongside gang violence, guns, and dead bodies piling up daily. The fact that I left the city with a DUI is probably the most impressive thing in the world to me.

Yes, my GPA is below average, but compared to other candidates, I grew up hard, seen it all, learned from my mistakes, BOUGHT a house at 26, while half of the candidates still live with their parents.

I feel like my integrity was overlooked and shadowed by my mistakes as a kid. Im so disappointed..

This one looks like it was written by a different person. The first post looked ESL.

[Veteran617]

This one looks like it was written by a different person. The first post looked ESL.

I gotta be honest with you Aidokea, you seem very untrusting.

Its just a forum. I didn't think there was any specific way of typing this up, although, I like to make sure things are as well written as they can be before posting them.

[NolaT]

There are MANY other Depts that are very understaffed, keep applying, you’ll get picked up.

[Veteran617]

There are MANY other Depts that are very understaffed, keep applying, you’ll get picked up.

My Police officer friend from Boston, MA said to move to Boston for a year and they will call me and take me ASAP. Because I am bilingual Spanish/English, and have nothing real serious on my record, I have a great shot.

Firstly, thank you! I really needed to hear that. I appreciate your quick responses on this forum.

Have a great rest of your night my friend.

[NolaT]

No need to move that far, I’m sure there has to be a closer agency that’ll take you,…….

[just joe]

I don't think I would appeal. I would start applying to medium to large metros with large Hispanic speaking populations.

[Bing_Oh]

Appeals exist to correct errors in the process. It doesn't sound like there were errors, you just got beat out by other candidates with better records.

The largest issue you've mentioned is obviously that DUI. Claiming you were so blackout drunk that you forgot that you smoked weed isn't really a better explanation than you intentionally leaving the pot out of your background packet...neither shows good decision-making. The more time you put between that DUI and your hiring, the better your chances are likely to be. I would also recommend that you don't drink or smoke anymore (assuming you haven't already made that decision)...doing so shows personal accountability and acknowledges you understand the seriousness of your mistake.

Being bilingual and the current state of hiring in LE still gives you a chance (assuming your background is what you say it is). Just Joe is probably correct in recommending applying to larger departments that are likely to be interested in a Spanish-speaker.

[Veteran617]

Appeals exist to correct errors in the process. It doesn't sound like there were errors, you just got beat out by other candidates with better records.

The largest issue you've mentioned is obviously that DUI. Claiming you were so blackout drunk that you forgot that you smoked weed isn't really a better explanation than you intentionally leaving the pot out of your background packet...neither shows good decision-making. The more time you put between that DUI and your hiring, the better your chances are likely to be. I would also recommend that you don't drink or smoke anymore (assuming you haven't already made that decision)...doing so shows personal accountability and acknowledges you understand the seriousness of your mistake.

Being bilingual and the current state of hiring in LE still gives you a chance (assuming your background is what you say it is). Just Joe is probably correct in recommending applying to larger departments that are likely to be interested in a Spanish-speaker.

I appreciate your input, thank you.

I spoke to another friend of mine who is about to retire as a 30+ years in service Police Officer and he mentioned to get my record from EOPS and talk to a civil service attorney to see what my chances are if I do appeal.

[NolaT]

As mentioned, appealing will be a waste of time, you were beat out by more qualify applicants, not due to any errors.

[Bing_Oh]

So, you want to pay a civil service lawyer (not cheap) to appeal a decision where you say the other candidates had cleaner backgrounds to try to get hired at a department that has told you they don't want you. Assuming you could possibly force the department to hire you, how easy of a time do you think you're gonna have in the academy, FTO, and during your probationary period?

There's probably a better than even money chance that you won't make probation and will have to pay that lawyer to have a LE termination in your history. Or, you could just accept the rejection and move on to apply to other agencies.

[Iowa #1603]

I wanted to appeal it because the discrepencies are not only minor, but mostly untrue. With me forgetting to mention that I smoked during my DUI is something any normal human being would forget blacked out drunk.. (This doesn't excuse my mistake but I didn't lie)

Yes, Im not perfect. I grew up in Boston, MA alongside gang violence, guns, and dead bodies piling up daily. The fact that I left the city with a DUI is probably the most impressive thing in the world to me.

Yes, my GPA is below average, but compared to other candidates, I grew up hard, seen it all, learned from my mistakes, BOUGHT a house at 26, while half of the candidates still live with their parents.

I feel like my integrity was overlooked and shadowed by my mistakes as a kid. Im so disappointed..

Your problems are not minor

[Veteran617]

Your problems are not minor

I have recieved 2 more vacancy notices and also decided to accept my fate with my previous ByPass for the same reasons you mentioned.

Unfortunately, as much as I hate to say it, all of the other applicants were white and this is a 97% white town. Being hispanic is rough when trying to join law enforcement as we also face that behind the curtain. Boston, MA doesn't only pay better but has 300 applicants accepted yearly VS 5 and they are advocates for Spanish speakers / Hispanics. They have sent me a Vacancy and I am moving forward with full force with that application. I will keep you guys updated within the following months!