Detectives in the NYPD's Intelligence Division have joined with the New York Civil Liberties Union to file a federal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that white detectives have been picked over more qualified black officers for promotions, NY1 reports.

Black detectives in that division claim that there is a secret list kept by Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence David Cohen and Assistant Chief Thomas Galati which details who gets promoted. The list, the detectives say, rarely ever features the names of black individuals in the elite force.

According to the complaint, of the 600 employees who work in the Intelligence Division, only 35 are African American. In other words, only five percent of employees in the division are African American. Of the 161 sergeants on the force, only eight are African American.

The detectives say that lack of promotions has hurt them financially. First grade detectives, a position the black detectives say they don't have equal access to, make $30,000 more per year than the lower third grade detective. There's also about $15,000 extra per year in pension payments for detectives who are promoted.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne denied the allegations and the existence of the secret list.

This may not be news for some. The NYPD has long been accused of running investigations based on racial discrimination and even the New York Fire Department has been accused of trying to weed out firefighters based on race.

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