Posted: 6/26/2001 2:15:03 PM EDT
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Okay, given the amount of anti-police and anti-SWAT rhetoric flying around, I had an interesting idea. I am sitting on a review board for SWAT candidates tomorrow (no, really). Does anyone have any questions they would like me to ask. I know I'll get a lot of flames on this one, but if you come up with a good, pertinent question, I'll use it and report back what the answers were. (This is actually just laziness on my part-last time I was on the board, all of the other board members stole my good questions and I haven't taken the time to come up with anything new). |
| Jsut to clarify, all of the basic questions (why do you want to do this, what do expect to get from this) are already going to get answered. Tactical and procedural questions won't get asked, because these folks haven't been trained yet. Questions are more along the lines of situational questions dealing with common sense and good judgement. |
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Quoted: These should put some minds to rest. "Would you knowingly carry out an illegal order from a superior?" "Would you question what you perceive to be an unlawful command?" "What is the requirement for the use of deadly force?" SOP where I've been. sgb Yeah, these questions are always the first ones to get asked, but thanks for the input. |
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Quoted: If you are given directives by your supervisor that you think may be Unconstitutional would you carry out the directive then question it, question it first, or not question it. Aviator [img]www.dredgeearthfirst.com/aviator.gif[/img] Variations of this question are already out there, but tend more towards "unlawful" than "unconstitutional." Courts decide the constitutionality of an officer's actions, and legislatures give us laws that further restrict authority. Most constitutional questions for officers come under search & seizure case law (which is also where use of force law is) and 5th Amendment, which is pretty much an investigative function and doesn't really apply to SWAT. |
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Everything went smoothly. As I promised, here is what I asked, and what happened: Which do you place a higher priority on, the safety of the public or the safety of the team? Lots of waffling from all of the candidates. They had a series of softball questions before they came to me, and then BAM! Eventually, all three said that they would not want to compromise their safety, but, upon amplification, all said they would willingly place themselves in the line of fire to protect an innocent bystander (which is a job and moral requirement). Would you obey an unlawful order? A couple said they would request clarification and try the chain of command, but all candidates said that they would not obey an unlawful order, which was the only acceptable answer. I would like to thank everyone for the input and assistance. |
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Thank you for the opportunity to try and toss some questions out. And also for letting us know how things went. Its helps a lot of people out to know what goes on behind the scenes with something like that, and allows us to get an idea of what type things are asked, and the expected responses vs actual. Aviator [img]www.dredgeearthfirst.com/aviator.gif[/img] |