police loyalty

[T.COTE]

I was presented with the following problem at an oral board.
  You are drastically out numbered at a fight and call for backup. The only backup around is a neighboring town. An officer comes and places his life at risk in a gun fight with you.
   The next night you clock a car at 15 miles an hour over the speed limit. You have been giving tickets to anyone going that fast. IT turns out to be your backup from lastnight off duty. What do you do?
    I have been asked alot of questions about loyalty, proffesional curtisy and the like. What do boards want to hear? They have put me in positions where you say you would do something to the average joe, then change it to be an officer doing the same thing. What are they getting at?
    Honestly, I believe in professional curtisy as long as they are being professional. IF they give me an attitude about it they probably are going to get the ticket. WHen it comes what to do about an officers behavior on the clock I have solid views on what to do, it's when personal favors come into play I get a little fuzzy.
    Any advice would help.


T.Cote

[JimCMR]

T.Cote;

You pose an interesting question, What do Boards want to hear?  As someone who has sat on Hiring Boards, I can tell you, they want to hear "your honest answer", not some canned, rehearsed, crap.  So take your best shot at what you feel is your honest position, and if you honestly don't know how you would react, say so.  Any honest answer is better than a BS answer, and believe me, anyone who has spent any time sitting on hiring boards, has heard all the BS answers, and they do not score high.

Remember an officer does not have to write a ticket, it is his/her decision depending on the circumstances.

JimCMR

[cpl_mike]

The answer is- Hey, Partner!Good night and drive slower!Cops (Sheriffs Deputies,Police Officers,State Troopers) are not robots slaved to a single mind set.If you were asked if you would let a mere citizen go for the same,answer why not! Traffic enforcement is for protection of the motoring public, not just to issue citations or raise local revenue!The job is to be a Peace Officer and warning people and correcting problems which are against local law or statute(from friendly waring to arrest is the spectrum).What if the same officer you mentioned was stone cold DUI?Here in Calif. DUI is a misdemeanor, and with misdemeanors and you have discretion.I stopped a citizen approx 70' from the driveway of his home.He was obviously drunk, but had a clear  driving record,was a solid working person, and his wife was awake and pissed that he came home so late from his monthly boys night out-solution released him to his wife,made sure the vehicle was secured,end of story-"peace kept,matter resolved"the law must be balanced by fair impartial usage and common sense of whats needed and expected by the community you serve.Do you think arresting that man on a tuesday night when he must go to work in the morning and there wasn't any semblance of vehicle traffic on the nearby streets(we're talking 3:40 am), when the local neighborhood is having nightly prowler/burglary calls a needed thing?When you come to these interviews , what they are looking for is not the "cop" mentaliy as most citizens stereotype us, but as a common ,thinking,fair minded person would do...