ASSIGNMENT

Be careful about the case you choose. Make sure you pick a case that specifically calls in to question the ethical integrity of a law enforcement officer. Shoot-don’t-shoot scenarios are not about ethics, they are about spontaneous reactions.

The killing of Philandro Castille, for example, is not about ethics, it is about a police reaction to a perceived threat. The perceived threat might be deemed unfounded and the police action might be an overreaction, but these are not ethical considerations.

Ethical considerations would be lying, creating false documents, fabricating evidence, ignoring relevant evidence, etc.

Also, cases that do not involve a “public response” are not appropriate for this assignment. The “Police Agency Reaction to Public Response and Possible Police Leadership Courses of Action to Prevent Future Violations” is a key element of the assignment that is weighted with 35 points (Please see the Grading Rubric). If you choose a case for which there was no public response, you will not be able to earn any of these points.

If you have any doubts about what case to choose (for this assignment or any assignment in this class), please discuss it with me.

Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper in which you do the following:

Describe the situation and how it was handled.
Explain the ethical implications of the officer’s action and the determining outcome.
Address whether the agency where the officer worked had an appropriate ethical standard or statement.
Describe how the agency dealt with the public response to the incident.
Determine what police leadership could do to reduce the chances that this type of ethical violation would occur in the future.