“Jimmy, if I catch you speeding one more time, I’m going to call your Daddy, and you know what that will mean,” Officer Smith says as he hands the young man his third warning ticket in the last three months. “Doing sixty miles an hour in a school zone is unacceptable!” “Yes sir, Officer Smith. I promise I’ll be more careful in the future,” Jimmy replies. Jimmy’s girlfriend, Lola, lights a cigarette and the two teenagers drive away to the sound of heavy metal music blaring from the car stereo. Sergeant Bill Smith, your new partner, returns to the cruiser, stashes his clipboard, and turns on the ignition. “You ready for a coffee break? They’ve got great latte down at the Croissant and Thistle coffee shop.” “Sure,” you reply. You order a hot chocolate while Bill asks for a croissant and latte. Once you get your drinks and food, Bill steers you to a quiet table in the corner. “How’s your hot chocolate?” Bill inquires. “Fine,” you answer. Swallowing the last of his croissant, your new partner clears his throat. “Jack, I know Park Place must seem like a different world from the Southside precinct, and I guess in a way it is. We do things differently here. Most of the folks are well-connected professionals—doctors and such. You might say our role is more supervision and less enforcement, like the young man I just pulled over for speeding. Jimmy Hamm’s father is Reverend Dennis Hamm, senior pastor of a large, influential Baptist church. In fact, the mayor, a state senator, and four of the city commissioners attend his church. Jimmy’s not a bad kid, just spoiled—although next time I catch him speeding, I will call his father. He knows if I talk to his father, I’ll tell him about that white trash he’s dating. And he knows that won’t sit none too well with his father. If you have any questions, feel free to put ’em on the table.” “Well Sergeant,” you begin, “this precinct is a lot different than the one I came from. In Southside, Jimmy would have gotten a ticket the first time we caught him. I know it’s a lower income area, but I thought ‘the law is the law.’”

“It is. It is, Jack,” Bill says with a chuckle. “The law is the law. It’s just that we apply it differently here than you did in Southside. You’ll be fine. I’ll bet they didn’t have hot chocolate made with real chocolate down in Southside.” As you walk to your car after the shift is over, you reflect on your first day in Park Place. It was definitely easier duty than where you had come from. Still, the knot in your gut lets you know you are uneasy about your new partner’s approach to law enforcement.

• What is the officers’ duty?
• Is it unethical to let Jimmy go? What if the offender were a poor young mother whom you know doesn’t have the money to pay a fine?
• Support your answers in connection to Kant's theory.