by Nolan Lickey
Business Management
Pete Mitchell, Age 26, Married, 2 Children, ages 5 and 1
Education: Bachelor's in Sociology
Occupation: Police Officer
Pete is an above average graduate of the police academy, and has been a regular duty officer for 5 years. Pete is efficient and well liked by the community he serves. He sizes up people and situations quickly and accurately. Once Pete "talked down" a potentially deadly confrontation with an armed robbery suspect who surrendered peacefully.
Pete has increasing demand as a speaker at local schools and civic groups, in part because he "gets to" kids and seems to have a positive effect on them. There is substantial evidence(from parents and others) to suggest that Pete has "turned around" some potential juvenile delinquents, redirecting them to positive activities rather than negative.
Off duty, Pete is little league baseball coach and firearms safety merit badge counselor for several scout troops. He is considered by superiors to be a strong candidate for promotion.
One shift, at 2 a.m. Pete Mitchell receives a call on a robbery in progress at a local 7-11 store. Pete arrives on the scene just in time to see the suspect run into the adjacent alley. In pursuit, Pete enters the alley, and immediately hears a loud "bang", as the suspect jumps from behind some trash cans, apparently holding a gun. Pete fires, killing the suspect. When he reaches the victim, he recognizes her as a 14-year old girl with along and increasingly serious criminal record, including several car thefts and drug offenses.
Upon the investigation, Pete finds the suspect was not holding a gun, but rather a handkerchief wrapped around a small plastic bag of white powder. The "bang" he heard and thought was a shot was probably a garbage can falling over. Remembering what happened to Officer McKay, Pete removes a "throwdown" from his pocket and places it in the girl's hand.
The 7-11 clerk later describes the armed robber as a large white male in his 50's.
Questions:
What do you think now of Pete?
If you were a fellow officer, would you report Pete's actions to superiors?