Ethics Essay

Suicide among police officers is a dramatic example of what can happen when those entrusted with the protection of others fail to protect and care for themselves (Suicide and the Police Officer, 2006). Police officers tend to create an identify for themselves in order to seem powerful, in-charge, and unwavering in the line of duty, when in reality the persona that they create can lead to officers breaking down physically and mentally (McCord 368). After an officer joins the police force, they are expected to accept the fact that there will be violence and trauma in their line of work. There are no mental health checkpoints that officers are required to meet in order to continue working in these stressful conditions, forcing

1. The Mayor of a large city was given a free membership in an exclusive golf club by people who have received several city contracts. He also accepted gifts from organizations that have not done business with the City but might in the future. The gifts ranged from $200 tickets to professional sports events to designer watches and jewelry.

In certain situations, the police may have to act quickly on their instincts. Sometimes, a situation is unpredictable and a decision needs to be made in a split second. The quick decision may to be to take a person down physically with the officer’s own hands, or to use deadly force, unfortunately. Anything can happen and the officer needs to be ready for every scenario. The different levels of force can be anywhere from just a police officer being present, to having to kill someone to prevent him or her from hurting anyone else. It’s a harsh reality, but sometimes the officer needs to make the decision to die or to protect him and do what he needs to do.

as a felony crime. But recently there have been court cases taken up in two

In the average person’s life seeing someone who had died in a car accident, been murdered, or committed suicide would be traumatic event that they would distinctly remember for the rest of their lives. Police officers encounter these type of events on a regular basis. Seeing those type of events and more go beyond just stress. These are traumatic events that wear on officers over time and can have serious negative mental health effects. In 2008 there were 141 officer suicides, in 2009 there were 143, and then another 126 in 2012. In the last six months on 2015 there were 51 police officer suicides. These numbers are well above the national average for suicides. There are many years where more officers take their own lives then are taking while in the line of duty and most years they are at least similar in numbers. It’s truly a tragedy that officers are as likely to kill themselves as to be killed by criminals. What is possibly most frightening about all of this isn’t just the high number of suicides, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, it’s the even higher number of officers who are currently at risk to become suicidal themselves. For every officer suicide there are at least another 1000 officers currently suffering from some symptoms of PTSD.

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When police officers sadly turn to suicide, fellow officers do not understand why that person took his or her life. They start asking themselves or other police officers, why did this happen? They deny their own emotions and only focus on the police officer who committed suicide (Gilmartin, 2002). Recently in Colonie, New York a patrol officer named Israel Roman shot his son and wife, lit his home on fire and then shot himself on February 11th of this year. It was reported that the doctor called it a murder-suicide. In this case he did not just take his life, but his family’s life as well. The Colonie department is wondering why this happened, a question that is commonly asked. The police are calling it a senseless act. The patrol officer had an older son, who he went to say goodbye to at his school and called his mother before the incident. Money was left in his car, along with some of his older son’s clothes. No one is sure why he killed his wife and even why one son was left behind and another was killed. To me it does not make sense either and perhaps that is why it is called a senseless act. Police officers are pushed to the point where they think there is no way out for them, but death. Police agencies need to pay more attention to situations like this, because it is no longer the life of an officer but in certain

1. (problem – PAS): In today’s society, Physician Assisted Suicide is one of the most questionable and debatable issues. Many people feel that it is wrong for people to ask their doctor to help them end their life; while others feel it is their right to choose between the right to life and the right to death. “Suffering has always been a part of human existence.” (PAS) “Physicians have no similar duty to provide actions, such as assistance in suicide, simply because they have been requested by patients. In deciding how to respond to patients ' requests, physicians should use their judgment about the medical appropriateness of the request.” (Bernat, JL) Physician Assisted Suicide differs from withholding or discontinuing medical treatment, it consists of doctors providing a competent patient with a prescription for medication to aid in the use to end their life.

* --Is it ethical for an employer to require as a condition of employment or use as a consideration for advancement promotion, that an employee participate in organizations apart from the business (ie. community non-profit organizations)?  Does the type or nature of the organization make a difference?

Despite the regular reports in the news about police shootings in recent times, the overall picture does not show an excessive problem. In over 14 million arrests performed, only 3,600 people are shot each year, with only 1,000 being fatal.. This number seems to be huge, but when one considers that there are an estimated half a million police officers in the U.S. this number becomes rather insignificant by statistical standards. This does not eliminate the need to investigate such instances of the utilization of deadly force. It cannot be considered capital punishment. In essence the officer becomes judge, jury, and executioner. It takes away the suspects right to a fair trial by their peers.

The article published by “USA Today” talks about a african american woman named Sandra Bland who was pulled over for a traffic violation, put in jail, and two days later “supposedly” committed suicide while in jail. Sandra was on her way to a church gathering, when she was pulled over by a white police officer. She was pulled over and the police officer kept asking her to put her cigarette out. When she refused to put the cigarette out the police officer kept asking her to step out of the car. She was asking the question, “ what does this have to do to anything, if you're going to give me a ticket just give it to me and we can both get going.” The police officer then said he would drag her out the car if she didn't throw her cigarette out and

A policeman witnesses a man trapped underneath a burning truck. Desperate and in pain, the man asks the policeman to shoot him and save him the pain of dying a slow and insufferable death. As a result, he shoots. The policeman’s dilemma is commonly referenced in support of physician-assisted-suicide, or PAS. Euthanasia and assisted suicide are interchangeable terms which both lead to the death of an individual. Voluntary PAS is a medical professional, usually a physician, who provides medication or other procedures with the intention of ending the patient’s life. Voluntary PAS is the administration of medicine with the explicit consent from the patient. In terms of this paper, we focus on voluntary physician-assisted suicide in the

We are becoming all too familiar with police suicide especially with the attention it gets from the media. In New York City, twice as many police officers die by their own hand as do in the line of duty (Finn)! The suggested reason, higher stress levels. What is going on? Every study done points to the higher levels of stress police officers face, but what form does that stress take? With suicide there seem to be four factors: 1. Divorce 2. Alcohol - not alcoholism, that was one of the early theories, but in actuality it was the use of alcohol right before the act to "get up the nerve" 3.

The lives of civilians are at stake by not using the right amount of force. According to Rushin, “[s]everal recent, high profile police killings of civilians have ignited a national debate about the regulation of law enforcement” (Using Data to Reduce Police Violence). Law enforcement uses methods to condition their officers to overcome their natural hesitancy to use deadly force.

Ethics is defined as the moral principles and standards that guide the behavior of an individual or group, while business ethics refers to said behavior in the work environment. Great leaders demonstrate and practice this both personally and professionally.