WK2 Replies

Caleb Pye

This discussion post is a hard scenario to answer.  Losing a life whether it be a child or adult is always difficult.  Despite the child's age, I would have to answer along the lines of striking the child.  Although this would cause extreme grief to myself and for the family, I have to consider the outside and legal factors to this scenario.  First, off the child is in the roadway so vehicles have the right of way and pedestrians have to yield to traffic (assuming there is no cross walk).  Second, the call is for an officer down.  In law enforcement, this is a critical incident.  Everyone in the department (including federal and state agencies if in the area) are responding to an officer down incident.  If I am responding to an officer down call, the child is going to have to be sacrificed.  I have also considered, who shot or killed the officer, now the suspect is on the loose...he or she could harm other citizens.  If I swerve off the road and kill myself and my partner, then I am no use to the citizens in locating the violent offender.  What if my partner and I are the ones who locates and apprehends the suspect?  If I swerve off the road and die, then all chances of the offender being caught are greatly increased.  The final thought to consider in this scenario is the setting.  I assume because the turn is a hairpin with a rock wall and a 100ft+ drop, I would be driving in the mountains and chances are there are no houses around.  With this being said, why is there a child being unsupervised playing in the roadway?  This is child neglect, and the parents are subjected to being charged.  If I swerve off the road, where is my patrol car going to end up? There is chance that it could fall into another roadway and injure a by-standard or another vehicle.

 As mentioned previously, I would have to strike the child because the outcome would be less devastating than for me running off the road.  Although this is a sensitive topic to answer and I know there has been actual incidents involving this scenario, it is something to ponder and think about.   

Matthew Wickham

This could be a very hard decision to make, especially one you would have to make in a split second.  The competing rights in this scenario would be either hit the child and live with that on your conscience or go off the side of the cliff killing yourself and your partner and having family and friends living with that grief. 

Three ways to cope with competing rights in this situation, starting with compromise, which would be finding a middle ground where both people agree in this situation, but it's not possible as the situation is life threatening in nature. The second would be avoidance, although it's impossible because the situation is already happening in the scenario. Finally, the third one would be hierarchy, this is where you determine what is most important in the situation, this would be the only option that would work. I would choose driving off the side of the cliff killing myself and my partner, although it's a hard decision, as a police officer we take an oath to serve and protect others while putting our lives on the line, and we as officers should be prepared to sacrifice ourselves for the fate of others. 

Caleb Pye

This discussion post is a hard scenario to answer.  Losing a life whether it be a child or adult is always difficult.  Despite the child's age, I would have to answer along the lines of striking the child.  Although this would cause extreme grief to myself and for the family, I have to consider the outside and legal factors to this scenario.  First, off the child is in the roadway so vehicles have the right of way and pedestrians have to yield to traffic (assuming there is no cross walk).  Second, the call is for an officer down.  In law enforcement, this is a critical incident.  Everyone in the department (including federal and state agencies if in the area) are responding to an officer down incident.  If I am responding to an officer down call, the child is going to have to be sacrificed.  I have also considered, who shot or killed the officer, now the suspect is on the loose...he or she could harm other citizens.  If I swerve off the road and kill myself and my partner, then I am no use to the citizens in locating the violent offender.  What if my partner and I are the ones who locates and apprehends the suspect?  If I swerve off the road and die, then all chances of the offender being caught are greatly increased.  The final thought to consider in this scenario is the setting.  I assume because the turn is a hairpin with a rock wall and a 100ft+ drop, I would be driving in the mountains and chances are there are no houses around.  With this being said, why is there a child being unsupervised playing in the roadway?  This is child neglect, and the parents are subjected to being charged.  If I swerve off the road, where is my patrol car going to end up? There is chance that it could fall into another roadway and injure a by-standard or another vehicle.

 As mentioned previously, I would have to strike the child because the outcome would be less devastating than for me running off the road.  Although this is a sensitive topic to answer and I know there has been actual incidents involving this scenario, it is something to ponder and think about.