Ethical Conundrums in the Police Force
The ethical dilemma in policing is the situation that any officer or agency is confronted with where there are no good options. Typically it is when a member of a law enforcement agency is faced with a situation in which they must choose between two or more courses of action, none of which is ideal. This is compounded in law enforcement where the decision-making process is not based on only one set of morals or ethics, but heavily on overriding laws.
There are numerous opportunities to experience an ethical dilemma within law enforcement. For example, I am faced with an individual who is driving a pickup truck on the interstate, driving erratically. I’m in a fully marked patrol unit and for whatever reason the driver fails to yield to me and forces me into a high speed pursuit. The individual crashes into a car, knolls over a highway sign, crashes again into the concrete barrier and finally comes to rest on the highway facing the wrong way. As I approach the individual I’m immediately struck by the odor of alcohol and the condition of the individual as he leans over the center console, not unlike a typical "nodder" you see with opiate overdoses. The dilemma for me is do I perform a sobriety field test even if there is no reasonable suspicion for DWI based on his physical actions; do I touch him and possibly cause him to react violently if I get him out of the vehicle and he’s actually a drug user with a gun; do I call for medical if my experience tells me this is just a drunk; or do I go with my instincts and decide that I have probable cause for a DWI arrest. The juxtaposition of open carry laws and heavily armed , intoxicated drug users robs the officers of simply doing what they’ve trained for. As a result, they delay and they hesitate.
In another example, an individual uses force against an officer. It is my nature to subdue and obtain compliance, to win at all costs. Yet, I must consider that I’ve just caused this person great pain. Keeping them simply in cuffs doesn’t help them provide medical care for their injuries. They may have committed the offense I’m taking them to jail for, but if I use excessive force in the transport, I may send them home in a body bag. I don’t want to come home and tell my wife I killed someone. In a number of recent cases around the country, we have seen video after video (most leave little doubt) showing that an officer used excessive force. Unfortunately, this has eroded public trust and confidence. We see in our economic/financial system what a lack of trust can do to the system. Policing is in a similar state. That we have officers who have acted inappropriately, we don’t recommend that our families contact police anymore. To overcome this, I need to show that I am concerned about the individuals I arrest, started with my police department’s policies and training. Starting right now, we need leadership from our profession to say that we are concerned about people, not just immigrants, or offenders, but people who we arrest.
Significance of Ethics in Law Enforcement Agencies
Ethical standards are important components of a culture of responsibility, accountability, and strong professional practices. Law enforcement agencies across the country are beginning to focus more and more on ethical standards as research sheds light on the various, often subtle, causes of unethical behavior.
One issue with solely relying on policy and procedures is that they can be withheld from officers. There are limited opportunities to provide guidance if policies are only distributed during confidentiality reviews that occur during hiring, promotions, or training. Instead, agencies should consider developing an ethical framework based on ethical thinking patterns, moral psychology, and implicit association. These frameworks are useful tools for officers to process ethical dilemmas by tapping into their feelings and decision-making strategies.
Establishing ethics training also requires a balance of measuring ethical thinking patterns and conducting reasoning exercises. While we should strive to remove bias from ethical reasoning, we cannot forget that bias can be an important part of the human experience. Bias, if understood and properly processed, may prevent poor ethical decision-making. Through bias training, officers can learn to avoid ethical violations by channeling their biases in positive, lawful ways. The key is a thorough understanding of the types of biases that impact police decision-making, and the proper ways to manage those biases.
Police Officers and Common Ethical Issues
Police officers commonly encounter sensitive ethical challenges in the course of arresting criminal suspects. These situations generally involve a tension between their duty to serve and protect all members of the public, and the pressure they can come under to pursue enforcement actions against particular individuals or groups.
Of all the ethical concerns that police officers face, the most frequently tested are rules governing the appropriate use of physical force and conflicting perceptions about whether and when force should be employed.
Modern policing policies in general and the ethical standards that govern the use of physical force by police officers have evolved in tandem with widespread improvements in the training of officers and the expansion of body cams, dashboard cams, and the use of other surveillance and recording devices.
Police use of physical force is nearly universally regulated by law in the form of village, city, or county ordinances and state laws. Licensed police officers who violate these laws could be subject to civil suits under 42 U.S.C. section 1983, as well as state law claims and suspension or termination of their employment.
Officers have the right to use physical force in many circumstances, including when effecting an arrest, but only to the extent that it is reasonably necessary to apprehend a suspect under the circumstances.
Research studies have confirmed a significant bias in the use of force by police officers directed toward black suspects rather than white, and based on racial stereotypes about black conduct and culture. The paradigm of a white police officer stopping and arresting a person of color persists, as evidenced by the continued aggressiveness of police with minority suspects.
Latino/African American issues intertwined with profiling and racism have created serious ethical and legal challenges for police officers, especially with regard to the use of excessive force. These themes appear in the dramatic public shootings of black suspects by white police officers in Ferguson, Missouri, in Chicago, and across the country.
Profanities, slurs and violations of privacy invade the workplace of precincts, leaving some Latino and African American police officers feeling bullied. These and other forms of disrespect for officers’ racial and ethnic identities leave these officers without recourse and may negatively affect their performance and attitude.
Profanity, sexual harassment and other effects of male paid employment on women create serious ethical challenges for female police officers who are often the victims of sexism, harassment and violence. Despite the improvements in relationships among women in policing, sexism still pervades the police culture. Consequently, many policewomen tolerate, ignore or deny the issue of sexism rather than confront it openly in order to advance their careers and gain acceptance among their male peers.
Conflicts of interest can also occur in the form of police officers’ affection for or close personal relationships with individuals criminally charged with crimes, such as drunk driving. These kinds of dilemmas can create conflicts for police officers that require their loyalty to their law enforcement duties to constantly compete with their empathy and affection for the accused.
Consequences of Violating Ethical Standards in Police Work
The consequences of ethical breaches in law enforcement can have far-reaching implications. At the legal level, individuals implicated in unethical activities can face criminal charges, civil lawsuits, or administrative sanctions. Legal accountability can lead to mistrust between the public and the justice system, particularly if community members suspect that officers are above the law. Such public perception can erode the foundation of respect that law enforcement agencies expect to have within their communities. The fallout from ethical scandals may also promote public outcry for more stringent oversight of police practices, including the implementation of body cameras and changes to the way officers access personal information on local computer systems. Frustration with ethical lapses by police officers has led to movements aimed at reforming law enforcement at systemic levels.
Law Enforcement Training in Ethical Decision-Making
Training and education play critical roles in preparing law enforcement officers for ethical decision-making. Policing organizations have implemented a variety of promising programs and initiatives aimed at developing ethical competence and moral courage. Professional ethics education in criminology and criminal justice teaching, for example, helps all students develop their understanding of how to act morally within their chosen profession. In research conducted by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), it was found that educational programs are most effective when ethical dilemmas are presented in a relatable and realistic manner . Training and other initiatives can reinforce important principles and values by focusing on integrity, trust, responsibility, and respectful conduct. Some law enforcement agencies help employees and community members recognize conflicts of interest and biases in them or in others. They also manage internal programs that help to foster good morale and fair working conditions. Others conduct periodic integrity testing and use role-playing scenarios to address potential ethical challenges. Some provide mentoring programs to help develop leaders and test decision-making skills and others provide online modules to help officers build on their ethical training.
Promoting Ethical Behavior
As challenges to trust and social promotion of justice continue to result in controversy surrounding the law enforcement community, it is essential that law enforcement agencies implement strategies that promote ethical conduct and minimize opportunities for misconduct.
Accountability Measures, such as the use of body-worn cameras, are increasingly being used to assess police conduct. The increased deployment of body-worn cameras directly supports a culture of accountability by providing the public with a sense that there is no ability to hide bad acts by officers, and provides agencies with evidence for prosecution or personnel action if the individual words or actions of an officer warrant it. The push for proliferation of body-worn cameras is supported by studies that suggest that the presence of the cameras reduced violations of both department policy as well as criminal law. This reduction is generally attributed to the fact that officers know they are being filmed and cannot hide from their conduct. It further suggests that citizens and officers are less likely to engage in negative or confrontational behavior when they know they are being recorded.
Community Involvement is another strategy that has been implemented by some law enforcement agencies to instill a culture of ethics within its ranks. A law enforcement agency cannot thrive without the support of the community it is meant to serve. Polling data show that for many communities, trust in law enforcement agencies is at its lowest point since 1993. Low levels of community trust are difficult to overcome, and require agencies to build trust in addition to policing. The relationship with the community must be nurtured with respect, collaboration, and accountability in order for a community to have strong relationships with law enforcement. Some of the most successful tactics have been community engagement initiatives that have brought agencies face to face with members of the community. A number of agencies have implemented programs that see officers working alongside community members on a number of projects including school improvement, church clean up days, and neighborhood association meet and greets. Many of the programs have also included youth ordinances that promote mentoring, education and the creation of friendships between officers and the most impressionable members of our communities.
Internal Review Processes are essential in any law enforcement agency that is committed to ethics, accountability, and the long-term benefits of promoting a professional environment. Each law enforcement agency must have procedures in place for permitting both internal and external individuals to file complaints of misconduct. Any unresolved complaints should serve as the bases for the removal of individuals from their positions of leadership or employment.
Numerous studies have identified that a professional work environment often includes both low levels of supervision as well as a low reliance on rules. With minimal supervision, employees must internalize the values of the organization and determine the right course of action, and work independently. The absence or lack of rules requires employees to seek out new and creative solutions to difficult problems when the rules fail to provide guidance. Lack of rules allows for more autonomy, which can be used positively or negatively. Employees in these environments operate at work with the same level of ethical imperatives that they would expect, or as stated by the organization’s culture.
The legal profession has defined a strong system of self-governance that holds attorneys to the highest ethical standards. Law enforcement requires that same culture of self-governance. In order for law enforcement agencies to be seen as not only enforcing the law, but holding themselves as accountable to the same principles and ethics that it promotes within the community it serves, law enforcement must commit to developing similar rules of ethics.
Analyzing Ethical Dilemmas in Law Enforcement: Case Studies
One of the most challenging aspects of discussing ethics in law enforcement is the need to balance acknowledgement of a past wrong, while recognizing a current right. For instance, it is instructive to look at the cases that have led many people to be more mistrustful of law enforcement than in the past. The following cases help highlight the complexity of ethical dilemmas faced by law enforcement:
The 1994 Rodney King Case
The 1992 police shooting of motorist Rodney King and the riots that followed it prompted a national debate about police racism and violence. Even after the acquittal of the four officers involved, however, the case and the rioting raised questions about police regulation and oversight, police decision making, applications of the law, police response to crime, and community interactions with the police. This was also a case in which video recording of events allowed for questions about the actions of law enforcement officers to be addressed in a very public forum.
The 2000 Scott Harrison Case
In 2000 a pregnant woman died in the back of a police cruiser after officers arrested her on outstanding warrants, which were non-violent ones. The officers had also arrested the woman’s boyfriend, whom they later released but forgot to also release the woman, who remained in the car for a couple of hours. When the officers returned to the car she was unresponsive and later died. Video footage showed the circumstances around the event and has been called "damning" against the officers involved. Although the officer in this case charged with conspiracy testified that he was returning with food when he found Harrison unresponsive, the video footage gives the impression that the officer was returning to investigate something suspicious that he saw—which turned out to be Harrison. The impact of this action is clear: police officers must ensure that no prisoners are left behind in any police car. They also must ensure , as an ethical law enforcement agent, that no prisoner undergoes substantial bodily injury while in their care.
The 2005 Seattle Officers Shooting Case
In this self-proclaimed "most thorough and complete investigation in Seattle Police Department history," the Seattle Police officers involved did essentially everything right. However, worse yet, everything was caught on tape. Alex Hinton and his brother shot at police officers responding to a domestic disturbance call until they ran out of bullets and then fled when they ran out of bullets. Once captured, Hinton’s brother made a deal with the state, but he refused to testify against Alex Hinton and has since been released. Witnesses on the scene confirmed the events on the tape of Hinton shooting at the cops: the tape shows that the officers shouted warnings and waited for him to cease shooting before firing back. Hinton was convicted in 2007 of first degree assault (unlawful possession of a Keltec sub-2000 semiautomatic rifle) with a firearm and government firearm enhancements. Because the crime was committed in front of children, he faces a maximum sentence of 170 years in prison. The shooting was captured on video and indicated to investigators that the officer’s response to the situation was appropriate and that they acted in accordance with the law and possibly even displayed exemplary conduct.
Many other cases can be found through a simple Google search, but the above cases provide a starting point to help you understand how to prevent such things from happening in the future.
It is important to note that while those in the social justice system may be able to learn from these past cases, what is done in the future will vary based on the situation at hand. That is why so many leaders are attending our seminar on Ethical Dilemmas Facing Law Enforcement Officers on November 6, 2018 in Tallahassee, Florida.