Asking the Right Question

Article summary

A patrol officer sees a gun and reacts to the weapon. A supervisor sees a fleeing driver and lets the pursuit continue. A chief sees rising crime and orders more visible enforcement. In each case, the fact was real and the response was made in good faith, but the officer or leader never stopped to ask the question the law actually requires. “Facts describe what is present. The issue defines what must be decided. They are not the same thing.” That distinction, Alikhan argues, is where most avoidable policing liability begins, not in bad intent, but in acting before the governing legal question is identified. The article lays out a four-step discipline any officer, supervisor, or chief can apply under pressure, and makes the case that agencies get the quality of legal judgment they actually train, supervise, and review for.