Discussion #9 //Police and Soc

You are a rookie police officer, just 2 months out of the Academy and one month from graduating from the field training program.  Your training officer pulls in to a convenience store and says “Lets get a cup”.  You walk in behind your training officer, get a cup of coffee and pay for it.  You position yourself by the door so you can see your cruiser and watch the counter.  Your training officer grabs a coke and several candy bars.  He does not go to the register and pay, but heads straight for the door.  Once you are settled in the car, he tells you that you can get all the cokes and candy bars you want from that store and not pay because the owner is a ‘friend of the police’.  Throughout the remainder of your shift your mind keeps going back to the ethics class in the academy and the department policy against taking gratuities.  Should you report your training officer for taking the coke and candy bars?  Why or why not?  How is taking candy from a convenience store different from taking a bribe? Is this a violation of personal or organizational ethical behavior?