CJ 230 Module Five Practice Activity Template
Objective Summary of Decision-Making Process
Taylor Heger
Nathan Mutter
04/02/2023
Complete the table below by replacing the bracketed text with the relevant information.
Scenario:
You are a state patrol officer, on duty, who has observed a car unable to stay in its lane. When you pull the car over, you realize that
the driver is also a state patrol officer who you know well and whose wife has a friendship with your wife. You have engaged in
several social activities with him in the past. He is a very popular and likeable colleague in the department.
As you engage with him after pulling him over, you notice that there is a strong scent of alcohol on his breath and that he is slurring
his speech. When asked if he had something to drink, he says that he has just come from the retirement party of a popular police chief.
He adds that he would be willing to park his car and have his wife pick him up if you could let this error slide, and states, “Law
enforcement officers need to support each other.” As a patrol officer, you also have an obligation to enforce traffic laws and maintain
public safety.
Step 1: Identify the
facts
Step 2: Identify
relevant values and
concepts
Step 3: Identify all
possible moral
dilemmas for each
party involved
Step 4: Decide what is
the most immediate
moral or ethical issue
facing the individual
Step 5: Resolve the
ethical or moral
dilemma by using an
ethical system or some
other means of
decision making
The facts of this
scenario are as follows:
First, the state patrol
officer noticed a car
unable to stay in its lane
while on duty. Next, the
driver of the car is a
fellow state patrol
officer whom the officer
There are a number of
relevant values and
concepts in this
scenario. These include
public safety, integrity,
accountability, duty,
professionalism,
impartiality, and ethical
decision making. These
Moral dilemmas for
the state patrol officer
who pulled over the
other officer:
First and foremost,
upholding the law and
conserving public safety
versus loyalty to a
fellow officer and
The most immediate
moral or ethical issue
facing the individual is
whether to prioritize
their duty as a state
patrol officer to
reinforce traffic laws
and making sure that the
public is safe, or to let
In this situation, one
