Running Head: DO YOU BELIEVE THAT POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD

EXERCISE PROFESSIONAL COURTESY?

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Do you believe that police officers should exercise Professional Courtesy?
BY
Jatinder Singh
Salt Lake Community Collage

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD EXERCISE PROFESSIONAL
COURTESY?

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I believe that the police officers should exercise professional courtesy on minor violations
only. They should look after each other as there are some courtesies on every profession just like
the same way a person working in a restaurant gives free food to their family members or gives
them a huge discount, a person working for a company gets bigger discount on things he or she
buys from that company.
Some officers such as John Puglissi say that, We have earned the right to treat our
fellow police officers courteously, if it causes no harm to anyone else and Dan Marcou stated
that There are three schools of thought when it comes to professional courtesy. First rule is that
off duty officers should receive professional courtesy from on-duty officers when contacted
during a traffic stop. Second rule is when off-duty officers are stopped for violations, they should
be cited by on duty officers to maintain ethical purity. Third rule is on-duty officers should be
allowed to use discretion which is totally eliminated by both point one and two by the way
when stopping an off duty officer (Police One).
Once a police officer pulled over a vehicle for not making a complete stop at a stop sign
and although it appears to be a routine traffic stop, the police officer in keeping with his training
approaches the driver cautiously. Nothing appears different or suspicious with the driver, who
was in the vehicle. So the police officer asks the driver if he know why he (the police officer)
pulled him over. The driver answers that he is not sure of the reason of stopping ((Pro Quest by
Vasquez, Emily). Then, the officer explained him and requested him to hand over his license,
registration, and proof of insurance. When the driver was pulling his license, he held the wallet
in such a manner that the officer notices a police badge pinned in his wallet. Now the officer who
pulled that man is facing a small dilemma only because now he knows that the driver is a police
officer. The driver who is a police officer and was pulled over by an on duty officer, asks the on
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD EXERCISE PROFESSIONAL
COURTESY?

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duty officer to extend him the professionally courtesy of not issuing a citation for that small
traffic violation. This is the type of dilemma faced by police officers almost every day.
There are some officers who never ever hesitate to write their fellow officers a ticket
because they respect the law and think of everyone as equal, but there are some other officers
who never cite a fellow officer for any traffic violation. Professional courtesy, what it means and
how, if at all, it should be used, varies widely from officer to officer. There should be some
guidance from which the officer should know the ways how to handle the matter when it is
involving professional courtesy. The insight officer first need to have the understanding of the
professional courtesy and ramifications behind it, as well as the officer should know that how
and on what circumstances it should be extended.
In a story written by Wolfe, he tells there was a one squad-car town. One day, some
police and some officers were having some discussion. The chief told the officers that all the
cops needed to help each other when they are in trouble and started giving some examples on
that, such as if an off duty cop who has crashed his car while driving drunk and there is no
witnesses around, then, he would have a problem with the responding officer and the other
officer should give that drunk officer a ride to home and cleaning the accident up to help.
He also explains how the cops should look after for one another, and take care of each
other which basically meant even by going against the law for their own good, when it says that
no one is above the law and everyone must follow and obey the law. I think that is the bad
example of professional courtesy in which the chief himself is telling to cover up for the fellow
who has committed that type of life threatening crime which is not only dangerous for the drunk
driver, but also for other peoples who are on the streets because they can be killed by drunk
drivers and some even do. The truth is that one person dies in every 31 minutes from drunk
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD EXERCISE PROFESSIONAL
COURTESY?

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driving and the statistics does not change just because the person who is driving is a cop (pro
Quest).
Professional courtesy as practiced by a police officer today is that the cops dont write
tickets to other cops, any of cops family members, military or to people with a sticker on their
cars indicating that they donate to the police charity fund. The central idea behind this kind of
behavior is that the cops have to look out for each other and stick together no matter what
happens (Pro Quest).
It is understood that police officers have to deal with unique danger and they have very
stressful life as they need to deal with all the crimes, and life and death situations on a daily
basis. But still I dont think that these reasons give them the special pass to act unethical and not
obey the law. Police has supported a lifestyle, a code of conduct and a code of brotherhood and
professional courtesy is also one of these codes (Pro Quest).
In a recent case, according to St. Petersburg times, Pasco County Officers pulled of four
off duty officers due to their driving behaviors, but after they find out that the drivers are also
police officers they let three of them go without any charge. In that case all four officers were
drunk and driving while intoxicated (Pro Quest).
In the other case, according to St Petersburg times, Officer Keith Longworth who works
for Port Richey Patrol refuses to arrest the other Officer Nicolas Sagnelli. According to the
report, Sagnelli was severely intoxicated and Longworth call Sagnellis supervisors. Instead of
arresting him, Sagnellis supervisor took him to the office for intoxicated test (St Petersburg
times). The blood alcohol test shows the intoxicated level was .18 which is twice the level of
intoxication according to Florida law. There are many other reports in which intoxicated driving
by police make other peoples on street in sever danger. Report shows that some police pass the
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD EXERCISE PROFESSIONAL
COURTESY?

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red light when other officer try to pull of them and drunk officers almost going to collide with
the upcoming traffic in intersection. In these types of situations we can say Professional courtesy
gets so unprofessional and totally against the law (Pro Quest).
Ethical formalism is considered an absolutist system, if something is wrong, it is wrong
all the time (Pollock, 2004). Just the same way, if something is right, then it is right all the time.
In a situation where a police officer is stopping another fellow officer for a traffic violation such
as speeding, when the officer doesnt know that the other person is also an officer, then that is
the ethical formalism, but on the other hand when by not writing a ticket to the fellow officer is
the moral duty or we can say professional courtesy. The law of ethical formalism states that
speeding is against the law and because of the oath taken by police officers that they must issue
the ticket regardless of if the violator is also an officer or not.
In one of the reports, we found out that from years in New York City, police officers
hand out the courtesy cards to their friends and families. But, in an investigation, they found that
some of the cards are sold by the police officers to some strangers through a website and people
who buy these cards believe that flashing the card could help them get away from getting a ticket
during minor traffic violations. They talked to Ed Mullins, in which he told them that these cards
are just a courtesy and a lot of people who dont have union cards gets away without getting
tickets by simply being courteous and being respectful with the police officers. I think giving a
courtesy card to the family members is okay, but selling to the unknown people is not the right or
fair decision to make.
I would say that they are breaking the law by not issuing the ticket for breaking another
law or for traffic violation. There are many reasons for the use of professional courtesy by the
police officers. The truth is that laws are written for a purpose and for a protection of all the
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD EXERCISE PROFESSIONAL
COURTESY?

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people regardless of whether they are ministers, politicians, officers or even civilians. And if
someone is not following the law by doing anything such as speeding, running a stop sign or
driving under influence is breaking the law, there are laws set in place for a reason and everyone
must follow and obey them all.

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT POLICE OFFICERS SHOULD EXERCISE PROFESSIONAL
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References
Agee, C. (2006). Gayola: Police professionalization and the politics of San Francisco's gay bars,
1950-1968. Journal of the History of Sexuality, 15(3), 462-489,527. Retrieved from:
http://search.proquest.com/docview/222693787?accountid=28671
Dresser, M. (2011, Feb 07). IS POLICE 'PROFESSIONAL COURTESY'
UNPROFESSIONAL? The Baltimore Sun Retrieved from:
http://search.proquest.com/docview/849633383?accountid=28671
Knights, Blue. (October 12, 2012). Professional courtesy: The badge on the uniform trumps the
badge in the wallet. PoliceOne.com. Retrieved from: http://www.policeone.com/off-
duty/articles/6009787-Professional-courtesy-The-badge-on-the-uniform-trumps-the-
badge-in-the-wallet/
Vasquez, E. (2006, Nov 14). Review board says it's wrong to seize civilians' police union
cards. New York Times Retrieved from:
http://search.proquest.com/docview/433439553?accountid=28671
Christopher Quinn Plain, D. R. (1998, Nov 01). COURTESY CARDS' USE QUESTIONED
POLICE LEADERS DEFEND AID FOR FAMILY, CLOSE FRIENDS. The Plain
Dealer Retrieved
from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/291887913?accountid=28671