⟩ Tell me suppose your supervisor gives you a direct order that you know is against department policy. What do you do? What if the order was against the law?
The purpose of these questions is to measure the candidate’s judgment and moral resolute. When deciding the appropriate response, it is common to be torn between violating department policy and potentially being insubordinate. Operational policy is designed to give officers direction regarding acceptable behavior in compliance with established legal and professional standards.
History is filled with instances of individuals who claimed they “were just following orders.” The correct answer is to advise the supervisor that he/she perceives the directive to be a violation of department policy. This gives the supervisor the opportunity to clarify the issue or change the directive. If the supervisor insists on violating policy, the officer must decide between refusing and complying with an improper directive. When responding to the follow-up question regarding an order that violates the law, the candidate should always respond that he/she would not follow the order.
