It _sounds_ like a particularly absurd example, but I do not have an in-depth understanding of the court case, the evidence, the department policies, and the law that lead to this verdict. These days I withhold judgement.
> but more subtle versions of this policy show up in many large police departments. For example, the NYPD requires half of a college degree at a rock-bottom GPA[1], and has been agitating for the current mayor (himself an ex-cop) to drop even that requirement[2].
I don't see the similarity. That looks like a minimum, not a "maximum" requirement.
I also don't see why a college degree should be required of a police officer at all. They should be able to get training on the job. A college degree (or part of one) requirement inflates degrees and excludes people with disadvantaged backgrounds who are likely to have grown up in and connections with communities most impacted by crime, and it probably doesn't select for important qualities, in my opinion. Although that's another story and I don't really have evidence for that belief.