Officer Applicant Cries Foul At UIC Hiring Process
(CBS) -- David Medina wants to be a cop. It's something he's dreamed about since he was a boy, and the University of Illinois-Chicago police department seemed like the perfect fit.
He thought he'd achieved his dream in 2009 when a UIC official wrote, "Please extend a job offer contingent on his passing the psychological evaluation."
Medina took the test and thought he aced it. But not according to UIC.
"I was told I ended up failing that, which at that point I believe I knew it was a lie," Medina tells CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli.
Medina secured a copy of his report, which said, in part, "The candidate is considered suitable for armed independent law enforcement work."
When Medina saw the report he couldn't believe it.
"I was pretty speechless that stuff like this would even go on," he says.
That's because just five days after that letter was sent to UIC, a school official wrote, "Medina failed the psych, please notify."
Now Medina says he believes the process was rigged.
"I truly knew I didn't get a fair chance," he says.
He says at least one candidate who did get the job had a criminal past in the armed forces, as reflected in a criminal history. But the UIC background check summary clearly says "no criminal history" next to that candidate's name.
Medina says he is thinking about taking legal action against the university so that future applicants don't encounter the same problem.
UIC officials say they do not comment on personnel matters.
