Where Do You Draw The Line?

[Rainman]

A police officer's duty is "to serve and protect." Getting killed in the line of duty is not part of their job description though. Now supposing police have to intervene in a situation where they'll directly put their lives in danger is it OK if an officer chickens out because they can be killed? Isn't it human nature to self-preserve first unless that person has a hero syndrome?

 

[milyjohnson]

Wow! That's a tough question. I understand if there may be certain police officers that wouldn't want to rush and risk their lives because they could get killed, but they should help one another to keep each other from possibly getting killed.

 

[DancingLady]

I think they have procedures for seriously dangerous situations. No one should be asked to go into a situation when they know they are in serious, unavoidable danger for their lives, that should be voluntary. I think that's why they have swat teams and such they have more body armor and protection.

 

[Riggy]

I would say if it's a very serious crime then putting yourself into some sort of harm is what you should do to stop it. I don't really believe that putting your life on the line should be an option unless saving several people's life would be the end result.

 

[askanison]

Part of the job is risking your life daily. It is what you sign up for, just like a soldier. Whether you choose to protect and serve is your choice and part of that choice is the danger of being killed in the line of duty. I think you implying that a person would have to have hero syndrome is a bit much. Hero syndrome would be an officer intentionally seeking out dangerous situations and overreacting so they would be seen as a hero. That person would be a horrible police officer.

 

[dostava]

If there are other people in danger, I think that an officer must carry out their duty at all costs and try their best to protect them. However, when there's only one culprit who is really violent and isn't really hurting anyone but is still a life threat for the officer, they should consider backing down. For example, if there's a junky causing a public disturbance at nighttime and a patrolling officer confronts him and the junky says he/she will stab the officer with a needle if they come closer, the officer has a legitimate reason to back away since no one's actually in immediate danger, barring himself and the threatening junky.

 

[GemmaRowlands]

Yeah, this is an interesting discussion, and one that gets a lot of press - because a lot of the time when officers refuse to do something to protect their own safety, their professional integrity is questioned. I would try as much as I could to save somebody, or solve any situation that I was placed in, however if it ever got to the stage where I believed that my life was more in danger than I was happy with, I would stop. There are dangerous things every day when you're in the police, that's just something that you have to deal with, but there is always a line, however it is incredibly blurred most of the time.

 

[js85]

I think police know what's at stake when they enroll in the position. That's not to say it's okay to lose your life for your job/career, but they know it's a risk they might have to face someday. I have no idea what it would feel like to have to make a choice when faced with protecting vs losing my life, but I'm sure it's not an easy one.