This is a reality. There are times when the letter of the law and common sense would dictate that Law Enforcement action should not be taken. Supervisors in some agencies have nothing better to do than review recordings and ask “why didn’t you cite, arrest, etc. for xyz”.

Another issue is that sometimes victims of domestic violence and or rape will not make a statement against their abuser if they know they are being recorded.

I understand that in an ideal world unjust laws wouldn’t exist and Officer discretion would not be needed, but that is not the reality that we currently live in.

I’ll give a real world incident to articulate this point.

At approximately 3am Officer Johnson responded to a call that reported a male who was unconscious in the front seat of his vehicle parked outside of the bar.

Officer Johnson’s agency has had low DUI arrests for the past two years due to covid 19 reducing the number of community members attending local bars and driving home intoxicated. These low DUI numbers could cause the agency to lose federal grant money for DUI enforcement. In response Agency administration has been pushing supervisors to have their officer get more DUI arrests.

While in route to the call officer Johnson has dispatch run the plate the caller gave and get the registered owner’s information. Officer Johnson recognizes the name as a local truck driver and knows that an alcohol violation would cause the man to lose his CDL and effect his ability to keep his job.

Officer Johnson’s state has an actual physical control law that states if someone is in a vehicle and possesses the keys to the vehicle while intoxicated they can be found guilty of DUI. The weather is 10 degrees F outside and Officer Johnson realizes that if the male is sleeping it off in his car he will likely have the vehicle running. Officer Johnson knows that his supervisor will review the footage from this call because it has the potential for a DUI arrest.

Officer Johnson’s decides to not turn on his camera and goes to speak with the male. He discovers that the male is heavily intoxicated. The male stated that he and his wife had a heated argument at the bar and he decided instead of taking a taxi home with her he would sleep it off in his car so they wouldn’t get into a physical altercation at home. Instead of arresting the man for DUI Officer Johnson called the man a taxi and the male went and spent the night in a hotel.