POST Situational Judgment and Ethics 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: You receive an anonymous tip that a fellow officer is selling department information to a known criminal organization. The tip is unverified. You should:
- Confront the officer directly to give them a chance to explain
- Dismiss it since anonymous tips are inherently unreliable
- Report the tip to internal affairs or your chain of command for investigation (Correct answer)
- Conduct your own informal investigation before reporting
Correct answer: Report the tip to internal affairs or your chain of command for investigation
Credible-sounding tips about officer misconduct must be forwarded to the appropriate investigative authority, not handled personally.
Question 2: You are involved in a traffic collision while on duty. What is the first step you should take?
- Contact your union representative before speaking to anyone
- Call your supervisor and follow departmental accident reporting procedures
- Assess whether any injuries occurred and provide first aid if needed (Correct answer)
- Move the vehicle from the roadway to prevent further hazard
Correct answer: Assess whether any injuries occurred and provide first aid if needed
Life safety comes first in any accident; assessing and addressing injuries precedes reporting and procedural steps.
Question 3: A search warrant authorizes you to look for firearms in a suspect's home. While searching, you find large amounts of cash. You should:
- Seize the cash since it is likely proceeds of crime
- Leave the cash since it is not listed in the warrant
- Photograph the cash and note its location for a follow-up warrant if warranted
- Seize it under the plain view doctrine if criminal nexus is apparent (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Seize it under the plain view doctrine if criminal nexus is apparent
Items not listed in a warrant may be seized under the plain view doctrine only if there is an apparent criminal nexus.
Question 4: A victim of a sexual assault asks that their report be kept completely confidential and not shared with anyone. You should:
- Agree to full confidentiality to encourage them to report
- Explain what information must be officially reported and what legal protections exist (Correct answer)
- Refuse to take the report unless they agree to full disclosure
- Take the report anonymously without creating an official case file
Correct answer: Explain what information must be officially reported and what legal protections exist
Officers must honestly explain reporting obligations and available legal protections rather than making promises of confidentiality they cannot keep.
Question 5: You are testifying in court and the defense attorney asks you a question to which you are uncertain of the answer. You should:
- Give your best estimate to appear confident and credible
- State clearly that you do not know or do not recall (Correct answer)
- Infer the answer from what you believe probably happened
- Decline to answer without consulting your notes
Correct answer: State clearly that you do not know or do not recall
Officers must testify truthfully, including admitting when they do not know or cannot recall specific information.
Question 6: An officer in your unit frequently makes derogatory remarks about a specific ethnic group in private settings. You should:
- Ignore it since the remarks are not made on duty
- Laugh along to maintain team cohesion
- Address it directly with the officer and report it if it continues (Correct answer)
- Assume the officer does not act on these views professionally
Correct answer: Address it directly with the officer and report it if it continues
Bias expressed in private settings can reflect attitudes that affect on-duty conduct; officers should address it and report if it continues.
Question 7: You are asked by your supervisor to write a report that omits facts that would weaken the department's position in a civil lawsuit. You should:
- Comply since supervisors have authority over report content
- Write the complete, accurate report and document the instruction you received (Correct answer)
- Omit the facts but preserve them privately in case they are needed later
- Refuse to write any report until the lawsuit is resolved
Correct answer: Write the complete, accurate report and document the instruction you received
Officers must write accurate, complete reports and should document any instruction to falsify or omit facts as potential misconduct.
POST Situational Judgment and Ethics 5
You receive an anonymous tip that a fellow officer is selling department information to a known criminal organization.
The tip is unverified.
You should: