NTN Police Situational Judgment & Problem Solving 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You respond to a call about an erratic driver and find the vehicle stopped. The driver appears confused, slurring speech, and has a medical alert bracelet indicating diabetes. What should you consider first?
- Administer a field sobriety test immediately
- Consider a medical emergency and request EMS while monitoring the driver (Correct answer)
- Arrest for DUI based on observable symptoms
- Issue a citation and release the driver
Correct answer: Consider a medical emergency and request EMS while monitoring the driver
Diabetic episodes can mimic intoxication; a medical alert bracelet makes a medical emergency the primary consideration before a DUI investigation.
Question 2: You are first to arrive at a shooting scene with multiple victims. Dispatch advises the shooter may still be nearby. What is your top priority?
- Begin treating the most severely injured victim
- Establish a safe perimeter, call for backup, and ensure the scene is secure before rendering aid (Correct answer)
- Pursue the suspected shooter immediately
- Begin interviewing witnesses for a description
Correct answer: Establish a safe perimeter, call for backup, and ensure the scene is secure before rendering aid
An active or nearby shooter makes scene security the first priority; rendering aid before the scene is safe puts responders at risk.
Question 3: A juvenile reports that their stepparent hit them, leaving a bruise. The stepparent denies it and says the child fell. What is the required action?
- Believe the stepparent since they are an adult
- Document the report, photograph the injury, and make a mandatory report to child protective services (Correct answer)
- Tell the child to sort it out with their parent
- Warn the stepparent and leave
Correct answer: Document the report, photograph the injury, and make a mandatory report to child protective services
Officers are mandatory reporters; suspected child abuse must be documented and reported to child protective services regardless of adult denials.
Question 4: During a search incident to arrest, you find a prescription pill bottle with someone else's name on it. The arrestee claims they borrowed the medication. How do you handle this?
- Return the pills since they are in a valid prescription bottle
- Seize the pills and document them as potential evidence of unlawful possession of prescription drugs (Correct answer)
- Ignore the pills since you already made the arrest
- Ask the arrestee to call the prescription owner to confirm
Correct answer: Seize the pills and document them as potential evidence of unlawful possession of prescription drugs
Possessing another person's prescription medication is a criminal offense in most jurisdictions; the pills must be seized and documented.
Question 5: You are working overtime and feel very fatigued near the end of a 16-hour shift. A call comes in for a vehicle pursuit in progress. What is your best action?
- Join the pursuit at full speed to help apprehend the suspect
- Advise dispatch of your condition and position yourself to assist with perimeter rather than active pursuit (Correct answer)
- Ignore the call since you are tired
- Rush to join regardless of fatigue
Correct answer: Advise dispatch of your condition and position yourself to assist with perimeter rather than active pursuit
Extreme fatigue impairs reaction time and judgment; informing dispatch and limiting your role to lower-risk support is the responsible choice.
Question 6: A business owner asks you to remove a person who is peacefully handing out flyers on the public sidewalk in front of his store. What do you do?
- Remove the person immediately at the owner's request
- Explain that peaceful leafleting on a public sidewalk is constitutionally protected and you cannot remove the person (Correct answer)
- Cite the person for loitering
- Ask the person to leave as a courtesy to the business owner
Correct answer: Explain that peaceful leafleting on a public sidewalk is constitutionally protected and you cannot remove the person
Public sidewalks are traditional public forums where peaceful expression is protected by the First Amendment, and police cannot remove someone at a private owner's request.
Question 7: You stop a car at night and approach the driver's side. As you reach the door, you smell a strong odor of marijuana. The driver denies any drugs are present. What is your next step?
- Take the driver's word and complete the traffic stop
- The odor of marijuana may provide probable cause to search the vehicle depending on your jurisdiction's laws (Correct answer)
- Search the vehicle without considering local marijuana laws
- Arrest the driver immediately for drug possession
Correct answer: The odor of marijuana may provide probable cause to search the vehicle depending on your jurisdiction's laws
Whether marijuana odor provides probable cause depends on state law; officers must apply the correct legal standard for their jurisdiction before searching.
NTN Police Situational Judgment & Problem Solving 3
You respond to a call about an erratic driver and find the vehicle stopped.
The driver appears confused, slurring speech, and has a medical alert bracelet indicating diabetes.
What should you consider first?