TCOLE Law Enforcement Ethics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A fellow officer asks you to falsify your time sheet to cover for his unauthorized absence. What is the ethically correct response?
- Comply as a show of loyalty
- Refuse and report the request to a supervisor (Correct answer)
- Ignore the request without acting
- Complete the form but note your disagreement privately
Correct answer: Refuse and report the request to a supervisor
Falsifying official documents violates TCOLE standards and Texas Penal Code; an officer must refuse and report the misconduct.
Question 2: Under the Texas Penal Code, an officer who accepts money in exchange for not issuing a citation has committed:
- Official oppression
- Bribery of a public servant (Correct answer)
- Abuse of official capacity
- Retaliation
Correct answer: Bribery of a public servant
Accepting a benefit for an official action or omission constitutes bribery of a public servant under TPC Chapter 36.
Question 3: An officer discovers that a subordinate has been padding arrest reports to meet unofficial quotas. The BEST first action is to:
- Warn the subordinate privately and monitor behavior
- Report the misconduct through the chain of command (Correct answer)
- Increase supervision without disclosure
- Overlook it if arrest numbers are accurate overall
Correct answer: Report the misconduct through the chain of command
Falsification of official reports is a serious integrity violation that must be reported through proper channels.
Question 4: Which ethical principle requires an officer to treat every person with equal dignity regardless of race, ethnicity, or social status?
- Consequentialism
- Impartiality (Correct answer)
- Deontology
- Virtue ethics
Correct answer: Impartiality
Impartiality means applying the law consistently without favoritism or prejudice toward any individual or group.
Question 5: An officer working a second job as a security guard observes a shoplifting incident. Ethically, the officer should:
- Take no action because off-duty status limits authority
- Act within lawful authority and report the incident properly (Correct answer)
- Ignore it to avoid paperwork conflicts
- Only act if the employer requires it
Correct answer: Act within lawful authority and report the incident properly
Texas law allows licensed peace officers to exercise authority off-duty, and integrity requires responding to crime observed regardless of employment context.
Question 6: What does the TCOLE Code of Ethics require regarding an officer's conduct in their personal life?
- Personal conduct is irrelevant to professional status
- Officers must behave lawfully and ethically even off duty (Correct answer)
- Off-duty conduct is governed only by civilian law
- Personal indiscretions are forgiven if job performance is satisfactory
Correct answer: Officers must behave lawfully and ethically even off duty
TCOLE standards extend to personal conduct because an officer's integrity outside the job directly affects public trust in law enforcement.
Question 7: An officer stops a driver who turns out to be the officer's supervisor's spouse. The officer should:
- Issue a professional courtesy warning automatically
- Apply the same lawful discretion used for any other driver (Correct answer)
- Immediately release the driver to avoid conflict
- Transfer the stop to another officer without explanation
Correct answer: Apply the same lawful discretion used for any other driver
Ethical officers apply consistent standards regardless of who the subject is, avoiding preferential treatment based on personal relationships.
TCOLE Law Enforcement Ethics 2
A fellow officer asks you to falsify your time sheet to cover for his unauthorized absence.
What is the ethically correct response?