This is the situation. You are on duty with no partner. It is late at night and you stop a suspected drinking driver. The driver of the car you pull over is alone. The driver turns out to be a fellow police officer who is designated to be your new partner next month. You have knowledge about the officer as you have worked with him as a fellow officer for several years – in fact you went to the academy together where you developed a very positive opinion of him. You quickly can see he is indeed intoxicated. The fellow officer indicates he wants a break – “After all, we are all in the brotherhood.” Your choices are to process the case as you would any DUI or to handle it informally and essentially protect your fellow officer. You are aware that if you process the case as you would any other, the office is likely to lose his job. You also are aware the officer has a wife and one young child. And how would arresting him make you look in the eyes of other officers? However, something else bothers you and that is the Department has lately been under attack by the media for discriminatory treatment of citizens. What is the ethical thing to do? How can you use utilitarianism and/or deontology to help you think about the situation?
