You see it all the time - $100,000 reward offered for info leading to the arrest of “Samuel Smith.”
Two scenarios:
Sam Smith is known for driving a late '80s Chrysler Convertible and many victims are found smelling like cigar smoke.
An On Duty LEO is at a Taco Bell and sees a gentleman smoking a cigar getting into a matching vehicle and he gets in his patrol car and pulls him over and discovers a corpse in the trunk. (How he developed PC for the stop and search is irrelevant, let’s assume it’s legal) Does he get any reward money?
Now lets say an off duty LEO is eating at Taco Bell and sees a gentleman smoking a cigar getting into a matching vehicle and calls the hotline for Sam Smith. He is apprehended shortly afterward due to the information received by the LEO.
Is the LEO eligible for reward money in either/both cases?
“Good job, kid. You get a commendation and maybe a free day off”
That is as far as it goes, if even then. All you get is more paperwork, more court time, and some supervisor saying “oh it was a team effort under my leadership…”
And if you’re off duty you get a blurb in the paper and cussed at for being a trouble maker
If that was the case, there would likely be a lot of rich cops! Seriously though, I think this has “conflict of interest” written all over it, on or off duty.
Thanks for the replies guys. It’s something I’ve wondered forever but never got around to asking.
True, but I would be pretty irritated if I was out with my family as an LEO and saw a potential BG, called the tip line acting strictly as a non-LEO and didn’t get the loot because of my employer.
I’ve seen cops get hemmed up over free coffee at the local Circle K. QT gives cops free fountain drinks and my department asked the CEO to change his policy. He told them to stop telling him how to run his company.
This is true, never paid for a fountain drink/coffee at QT though I always offered to pay. Some of our guys got dinged for such things but it’s kind of hard to set an example when your Chief is wined and dined with the city fathers by big wigs and everyone Captain and above get car allowances.
Pretty much. I understand the intent of the policy, to prevent corruption. But somehow making sure regular cops don’t accept free coffee and donuts doesn’t prevent a string of local Sheriff’s from being arrested and convicted of “corruption.” The most recent example is Ken Jenne.
One of our older officers who is now retired said they would get 50 bucks if they found somebody on a AWOL warrant and brought them in. Now though its not gonna happen and no reward goes to any officer or department.
I don’t go places looking for anything free. I know cops who do. There is a local gas convenience store that gives coffee free to everyone on Monday mornings. I will take a coffee there on a Monday. But can not remember the last time I did. I had a local Chinese restaurant here in my area I stopped going to for years because they did not want me to pay. I tried sticking my money in the tip jar and the kid there would run out into the parking lot and give it back. I know many chains have a special button on the register, Burger King and Dunkin Donuts used to. I think a coffee and donut at DD was twenty-five cents. Hey why the hell isn’t there a cents symbol on keyboards anymore! That’s been irritating me for years. I don’t want to type $0.25. =)
It’s not about what is, it’s about what it looks like. Run a tight ship and get what you can at whatever non-bottom level you are at. Pretty common in a lot of industries. Budgets get tighter the further down you go.
