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Ethical and Legal Consideration

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George Floyd's death brought to light the existing racism in the United States, a byproduct of

the slavery system. This killing is just one of many in recent years, but Mr. Floyd's death sparked

indignation around the country, but it was especially vehement in Seattle (Ruiz, 2020). The area's

police chief, a woman named Carmen Best, was the object of all this fury, and as a result, she

found herself facing ethical and legal issues. This outcry caused a lot of controversies; as a result,

the police budget was cut by almost half, which was one of the factors that prompted her to quit.

In terms of ethics, she was continuously troubled by the decision to lay off the cops; she was

particularly impacted by an email she got from a recruit who was also black, as it hurt her heart

that he had lost his job despite his excitement for the position (Baker, 2020). She didn't think the

police were getting the respect they deserved from the council members, and it was something

she couldn't stand.

Miss Best, one would like to know, did she lead with integrity? Yes, without a doubt. Even

though we saw her blame the city council for caving in to public pressure, she was an influential

person during these challenging times. She was reported to believe in free speech. Her primary

concern, it appears, was not with the politics of the day, such as the councilmen and mayor's

office, but with returning the officers to their responsibilities in the Precinct. Not only that, but

she also stopped using tear gas after widespread public protest (ABC News, 2020).

During these challenging times, Miss Carmen Best demonstrated two decision-making

characteristics that were quite important. To begin with, she had a decision aim in mind, which

influenced her activities significantly. This enraged her, mainly because the council members

were taking advantage of the situation to play politics with the police budget when all she wanted

to do was save the position (ABC News, 2020). Second, her views, values, and personal
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ambitions were the guiding principles she used to make decisions, and when these were in

conflict, she decided to leave.

References

ABC News. (2020, June 13). Seattle police chief on autonomous takeover: “We did not . . .

abandon the precinct.” https://abcnews.go.com/US/seattle-police-chief-autonomous-takeover-

abandon-precinct/story?id=71217085

Baker, M. (2020, August 12). ‘Can’t Do It’: Chief Resigns Amid Seattle’s Divide Over Policing.

The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/11/us/seattle-police-chief-budget-

cut.html

Ruiz, M. (2020, June 11). Seattle police chief: “Leaving the precinct was not my decision.” Fox

News. https://www.foxnews.com/us/seattle-police-chief-leaving-precinct