01-25-2018, 11:41 AM
(01-24-2018, 07:43 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: Unethical is a strong way to put it. If you decline to issue a citation to someone, as has happened to my father, because they are career military, or because they have a reasonable excuse for their error and you perceive them as sincere, this is no different than using said discretion because the person is related to a LEO. I can get into Coachella for year every year because of who I know. There are people around the world who would sell a kidney to attend. I think where people get upset with LEO's engaging in this behavior it's because they perceive the law to be an area in which the "homeboy hookup" shouldn't exist. I can tell you that not issuing tickets to other LEO's is done both as a professional courtesy and because tickets can negatively impact you at the job, something that doesn't happen in other professions. All that being said, there are still LEO's who will ticket family members of LEO's or even LEO's themselves. There is one firm and fast rule, never ticket a lieutenant (or equivalent) or above.
You're using the private sector to compare, though, and that creates a fallacy. The government is supposed to treat every person equally. We are all entitled to the same rights, privileges, and immunities according to the Constitution. As representatives of the executive branch of government, any preferential treatment runs contrary to that. The unspoken rules, the different ways officers handle these things, all of that creates situations in which some citizens are not being treated equitably by the government. That is unethical.
Now, I freely admit that this is my position as a bureaucrat and it may be different if I was someone that was in a position like this. I may see these things as inconsequential were I in your position. But even as minor as it is it violates the ethical positions for government work because it creates inequity.
