Primary Discussion Response is due by Wednesday (11:59:59pm Central), Peer Responses are due by Sunday (11:59:59pm Central).

The discussion assignment for this week is a little different from the discussion boards in Phases 1-3. For this discussion board, you are required to post your outline for the Phase 4 Individual Project, and critique each other. This discussion board is designed to allow you and your classmates to obtain feedback from each other so that each of you can prepare the best Phase 4 IP.

Primary Task Response: Your first task is to post your own Phase 4 IP Outline to the discussion board so that other students are able to review your plan. Attach your document to the main discussion post or copy and paste the outline to the main discussion post, and include any notes you feel are appropriate. The purpose of this assignment is to help improve the quality of the Phase 4 IP you will complete.

Respond to Another Student: Review at least 1 other student’s Phase 4 IP Outline and provide meaningful feedback. Refrain from general feedback, such as simply stating “good job.” Your feedback to other students is most helpful if you not only point out weak areas but also offer suggestions for improvement. The best feedback takes a three-stage approach to identify what was done well, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Point out items or issues you believe may be missing from your classmate’s outline or ask questions about matters that may be unclear to you about your classmate’s Phase 4 IP based on your reading of your classmate’s outline.

Keep in mind that your goal is to be constructively critical of your classmates’ work. Your comments should be calculated to support your classmates’ goal of submitting the best possible Phase 4 IP.

Click on Student Expectations to view the expectations for this assignment.

• Identify the organizational structure and administration of law enforcement agencies, with particular emphasis on police departments.
• Describe law enforcement policies, procedures and leadership along with current personnel issues.

Weekly tasks or assignments (Individual or Group Projects) will be due by Monday and late submissions will be assigned a late penalty in accordance with the late penalty policy found in the syllabus. NOTE: All submission posting times are based on midnight Central Time.

Two patrol officers from a small police department (20 sworn officers) were on surveillance at a local office supply store. A confidential informant provided a tip to the officers that the store might be robbed shortly after closing time. Further information later revealed that the informant received the tip from an acquaintance of his, and that the acquaintance was a known drug addict and therefore, not a very credible source. However, several office supply stores had been robbed in a similar fashion in neighboring counties, so the officers decided to pursue the lead. They were also working off of a sketchy description of two Asian men who might have been involved in the other robberies. This description came from a police department in one of the neighboring counties that had experienced one of the office supply store robberies. While surveying the office supply store, the dispatcher notified the officers that a citizen at a nearby strip mall heard what she thought was gunfire in the parking lot. Since the officers were close by, they headed over to the strip mall.

Upon their arrival, the witness told them that she “might have” heard gunfire and saw what appeared to be an Asian male walk into one of the stores while possibly carrying a gun in his back pocket. Shortly afterwards, an Asian man walked out of one of the stores and proceeded to the parking lot. The officers drew their weapons and ordered the man to get on the ground with his hands above his head. An Asian female got out of a car located close to the suspect and started yelling at the officers, wanting to know why her husband was on the ground. Following procedures, one of the officers ordered the female back into the car, but she became hysterical and had to be restrained. Seeing what was happening to his wife, the suspect became agitated and tried to get up to help his wife. He was subdued and placed in handcuffs. He was then arrested for resisting arrest as well as other charges. Several days later, the police chief was notified by the city attorney that the man had filed suit for violation of his civil rights.

Assignment Guidelines

Address the following in 750–1,000 words:

Because the individual filed suit for violation of his civil rights, there will be an internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arrest, and the actions of all involved parties leading up to the arrest. An obvious question in this case is whether the officers violated the alleged suspect’s civil rights. For a court to ultimately reach a conclusion on this question, what other questions must be answered? Specifically, discuss the following:

• List what factors may be considered by a court in determining whether a police officer has violated an individual’s civil rights.
• Discuss each of those factors that could be an issue in this case.
  • While discussing each of those factors, identify whether there is a need for additional information to reach a conclusion about each factor.
  • Discuss whether having detailed procedures in place for responding to a call such as this could impact the decision of whether the officers violated the individual’s civil rights.
• Did the officers have sufficient cause to be on stake out at the office supply store?
  • Defend your answer based on research into law enforcement operations in a small agency.
• Hypothetically speaking, what if the suspect’s rights were violated?
  • Would you (as the chief of police) support some form of disciplinary action against the officers involved? Why or why not?
  • What factors could influence that decision?
• Should the man’s wife be entitled to collect damages? Why or why not?
• Do you believe that the officers engaged in racial profiling? Explain your answer.
• Assume that this case led to a public outcry for a citizen review board to examine questionable police activities and recommend disciplinary and policy actions. Would you support the creation of such a board? Why or why not?
• Base your decision on research into citizen review boards and their impact on officer and department performance on civil rights issues.  

Be sure to reference all sources using APA style.

Please submit your assignment.

Click on Student Expectations to view the expectations for this assignment.

For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.

Course Materials

• Identify the organizational structure and administration of law enforcement agencies, with particular emphasis on police departments.
• Describe law enforcement policies, procedures and leadership along with current personnel issues.
• Write reports with accuracy, brevity, and clarity.