Response to Montie Williams
As Williams correctly puts it, it is legally, morally and ethically wrong for anyone to break the law and go away with it unpunished irrespective of their position in the society. This is the moral judgment that needs to inform our decision making as criminal justice professionals. The moral rule is that everybody should follow the law as they exist to protect the society from harm. Given the self-interested and egoistic nature of human beings, it would be chaotic to allow people to decide when and when not to abide by the laid down rules and laws. Using the ethical principles of utilitarianism, ethics of care and ethical formalism, one can easily find a solution to every moral dilemma they find themselves in as a criminal justice professional.
However, I think Williams is wrong when she asserts that she would have apologized to the captain if she were the Police Officer in this situation for issuing the ticket to the master. The question is, why treat the Captain and the Mayor differently while all of them are citizens who should abide by the law? Using utilitarianism and the ethics of care, I would have pulled them over and issued a ticket to both of them since by doing this; I would be protecting the wider members of the public and doing the right thing to ensure sanity and safety on our roads. Based on ethical formalism that requires us to act in the way we would like others to act, I think my fellow officers and I would want the same action to be taken against us if we were in a similar situation.
Response to Gina Saladino
The writer is correct when he observes that the moral judgment of this situation is that everyone should obey the law regardless of their status in the society. Moreover, it is right to say that as a moral rule and principle, no one is above the law and that the law should apply to all equally. Thus, a police officer is under a legal and moral duty to enforce all traffic laws while ensuring that they use their discretion ethically, wisely and judiciously.
Traffic Police officers as Gina states have the wherewithal and discretion which guides their decision making in various situations (Pollock 116). They have the discretion as to whether to issue warnings or write tickets to those who flout traffic rules. I think this choice should be guided more by an ethical system of ethical formalism and principles of utilitarianism based on the seriousness of the traffic offense, whether it is a repeat offender and not the official status of the offender. Thus, I agree with Saladino that the officer in this situation made the correct ethical and moral decision of giving the Mayor a ticket. He was indeed simply doing his job and the fact that his superior is involved in reckless driving, or any other violation of traffic rules which he is under a duty to enforce should not deter him from fulfilling his moral, ethical and legal obligations.
Works Cited
Pollock, Joyce M. "The police role in society." Pollock, Joyce M. Ethical dilemmas and decisions in criminal justice. Belmont, CA: WADSWORTH CENGAGE Learning, 2013. 103-134. Print.
