Making the Case for Second Opinions: Psychological, Agency, and Legal Perspectives on Independent Evaluations of Psychologically Unsuitable-for-Hire and Unfit-for-Duty Determinations

Saturday, October 18, 2025

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM MT

Location: 403/404, Colorado Convention Center

Psychological assessments of candidates’ suitability for hire or incumbent officers’ fitness for duty are essential to public safety, the assurance of a safe workplace, and the delivery of effective police services to the community. Out of an abundance of caution, psychological evaluators may sometimes prefer false positives over false negatives—erring on the side of caution by identifying an unreasonable degree of risk when, in fact, such risk does not exist. These errors can unnecessarily exclude suitable candidates from consideration or remove psychologically fit veteran officers from service. This presentation will explore agency, legal, and psychological perspectives on independent evaluations in such cases and offer recommendations for best practices.

Submitter and Speaker(s)

Thomas Coghlan, PsyD

Police Psychologist, Detective (Ret.)
Blue Line Psychological Services
Roslyn Heights, New York, United States

Handouts

Speaker(s)

Eric Atstupenas, Esq.

General Counsel
Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association
South Grafton, Massachusetts, United States
Fred Farris

Chief of Police
Gladstone Police Department
Gladstone, Missouri, United States
Lewis Schlosser, PhD, ABPP

Police Psychologist
The Institute for Forensic Psychology
Oakland, New Jersey, United States