Scenario One – Drugs at a Friend’s House
Yes, a moral problem exists. I have to decide if I believe it is wrong to do cocaine. Then I have to decide whether to call the police on the people doing the cocaine even if having the police come to my friend’s house will harm my friend’s reputation and cause my friend legal issues. Since I am off duty, I would need to call the police and not handle the situation myself, even though I am a police officer.
Doing cocaine is illegal in most jurisdictions. If snorting cocaine is illegal where this activity is taking place, then yes, I have to follow the law and have the people who are snorting cocaine arrested. The criteria guiding my actions will be whatever the law says to do in this situation.
I would call the police because that is the law regarding illegal drugs. People doing illegal drugs have to pay the penalty for doing the drugs. My friend should not associate with people who do cocaine. He will have to pay the price for allowing such people into his home. My friend is responsible for the actions taken by guests in his home.
Scenario Two – Accepting a Gift
The moral issue is whether it is acceptable for police officers to accept gifts from citizens. It is immoral for me as a police officer to accept gifts as accepting gifts can be construed as accepting a bribe to protect the giver from legal action. Most police department policies dictate that police officers refuse gifts. I could do one of three things: Refuse the gift and explain why, accept the gift and explain that I cannot keep it and that I will donate it to charity, or I can refuse it, explain why and ask the shop owner to donate it to charity.
The local law regarding bribing a police officer must be followed as well as precinct procedure on accepting gifts. Additional criteria include what I believe to be right or wrong about accepting the gift as well as the feelings of the shopkeeper. Unfortunately, the law is not in place to protect people from getting hurt feelings. I would refuse the gift and explain the law and police procedures regarding police officers accepting a gift. My position is justified by the law and police procedure.
Scenario Three – Homosexual Partner
The moral issue here is that some people regard homosexuality as immoral. If Officer Davis believes homosexuality is immoral and would find it difficult to work with Officer Jones for that reason, then yes, there is a moral issue. If Officer Davis knows he would not be able to work side by side with Officer Jones because Officer Jones is a homosexual, I would need to reassign Officer Davis. I would need to exercise professional discretion because it is illegal to discriminate against employees because of sexual preference. It is also against employee procedure to discriminate against fellow employees because of sexual preference.
The criteria I would use in my decision is Officer Davis’s reasons for wanting to be transferred as well as how to best serve public safety and the safety of Officer Jones and Officer Davis in this situation. Partners need to be able to work well together to protect each other and the public. If there is tension between the police partners, someone will get hurt someday.
I would reassign Officer Davis for the above stated reasons of officer and public safety. I justify this decision as it is the job of the police department to protect fellow officers and the citizens of the community.
References
Fuller, L. L. (1975). The morality of law. New Haven, CT: University Press.
