POST Situational Judgment and Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You witness a fellow officer plant evidence at a crime scene. What is the most appropriate action?
- Ignore it to maintain department loyalty
- Report it immediately to a supervisor or internal affairs (Correct answer)
- Confront the officer privately and ask them to remove it
- Document it in your personal notes but take no official action
Correct answer: Report it immediately to a supervisor or internal affairs
Officers have a legal and ethical duty to report misconduct, including evidence tampering, to appropriate authorities.
Question 2: A suspect you are arresting claims to have a medical condition requiring medication. You find no visible signs of distress. You should:
- Ignore the claim since there are no visible symptoms
- Delay the arrest until the claim can be verified
- Note the claim and arrange for medical evaluation at the facility (Correct answer)
- Release the suspect pending medical clearance
Correct answer: Note the claim and arrange for medical evaluation at the facility
Officers must take medical claims seriously and ensure suspects receive appropriate evaluation, even without visible symptoms.
Question 3: During a traffic stop, a driver offers you tickets to a sporting event as a 'thank you.' The most ethical response is:
- Accept them since they are a gift, not money
- Accept them only if they are under your department's gift threshold
- Decline and explain that accepting gifts could compromise your integrity (Correct answer)
- Accept them but report it to your supervisor afterward
Correct answer: Decline and explain that accepting gifts could compromise your integrity
Officers should decline gifts from citizens they encounter professionally to avoid any appearance of favoritism or corruption.
Question 4: You are dispatched to a domestic disturbance where the apparent aggressor is a prominent local politician. How should you proceed?
- Exercise discretion given their public status and mediate without arrest
- Treat the situation the same as any other domestic call, following standard protocols (Correct answer)
- Contact your supervisor before taking any action
- Defer to the victim's wishes entirely without making an independent assessment
Correct answer: Treat the situation the same as any other domestic call, following standard protocols
The law applies equally to all citizens regardless of social status, and officers must follow established protocols consistently.
Question 5: A confidential informant provides you with information about a crime but asks that their identity never be revealed. Later, a defense attorney subpoenas your records. You should:
- Destroy all records to protect the informant
- Consult with your department's legal counsel before responding (Correct answer)
- Reveal the informant's identity to comply with the subpoena
- Refuse to comply with the subpoena on your own authority
Correct answer: Consult with your department's legal counsel before responding
Officers facing legal demands for confidential informant information must work through proper legal channels and consult counsel.
Question 6: You are off-duty and observe someone shoplifting. What is the most appropriate response?
- Intervene immediately with full officer authority since you are always on duty
- Notify on-duty officers by calling dispatch and provide a witness statement (Correct answer)
- Ignore it because you are off-duty and have no jurisdiction
- Detain the suspect yourself and wait for on-duty officers to arrive
Correct answer: Notify on-duty officers by calling dispatch and provide a witness statement
Off-duty officers should generally notify on-duty officers rather than personally intervening, to avoid situations without proper backup or equipment.
Question 7: A community member posts a video online falsely accusing you of misconduct during an arrest. Your best course of action is:
- Post a public rebuttal on social media defending yourself
- Contact the person directly to demand they remove the video
- Report the video to your supervisor and let the department handle it through official channels (Correct answer)
- File an immediate defamation lawsuit against the poster
Correct answer: Report the video to your supervisor and let the department handle it through official channels
Officers should not engage in public disputes on social media; official misconduct allegations must be handled through department processes.
POST Situational Judgment and Ethics 2
You witness a fellow officer plant evidence at a crime scene.
What is the most appropriate action?