Scenario

imagine that you are a police officer assigned to traffic enforcement on a busy street in a small neighborhood on a Saturday afternoon. The neighborhood is located directly across the street from a park.

You observe a motorist speeding through a crosswalk at the same time several small children are about to enter it. After making a traffic stop and issuing a citation, you continue patrolling the neighborhood when you are flagged down by the mother of one of the children. She thanks you for all the hard work you are doing to reduce speeding in the area and offers you $50 as a token of her appreciation.

Respond to the discussion thread of at least two peers. Review the comments offered by fellow students and share your thoughts on why you believe that their assessment of this situation is correct or incorrect. If you disagree with their assessment, use outside resources to support your opinion

Classmate # 1 Elsa

While I understand that the mother was acting in good faith and wanted to reward the officer for doing his job in preventing a tragedy. While the two people in the exchange know what’s going on with the money outsiders would see it the wrong way. According to the oath law enforcement should have integrity which is doing the right thing even when no one is looking. They also need to uphold the public trust because currently police officers are not being seen in the best light. Its not all police officers that have a bad rap but because one does all of them suffer. In this case the police officer receives a check for doing the duties he is tasked to perform like protecting the community no additional tipping is necessary.

I currently work for tdcj and even though we do a pretty good job of keeping inmates in prison. The only time you hear about us is because a dirty officer was caught smuggling in contraband for an inmate. One of our core values is integrity and I do the right thing when no one is looking.

Classmate #2 Kyle

I would not have taken the money. This is a slippery slope and can lead to issues down the road. When you accept a gift that person can use that instance against you, or worse if someone sees you take it, they can assume that you were paid to stop the individual. It is not ethical to accept monetary items. As officers in the publics eye, you have to stay above the views of the public and seem impartial. Even if it is innocent, the perception can look extremely bad for you.