Jeff Pelo
The first few classes we have discussed two theories of ethics and how they relate to certain situations. To be brief Kantian ethics say that if it’s a rule for one it should be a rule for all. The law is universal and should be adequately applied to everyone. Seems fair and makes sense, however what is right and just for one isn’t always right and just for all. To contrast that, Utilitarianism says that we must sacrifice or act in accordance to please the greater good. Again, what is pleasure for one may or may not be pleasure for all. Ethical dilemmas appear everywhere in professional life most notably in policing. Police work hands down has to be one of the professions that use the most self discretion to make a choice not only for oneself but a choice to suit society. Making a ball or strike call may be hard for an umpire to do, and when making the wrong call the implications can be huge, especially if it is in a World Series game or some game of worth. Or who could forget about Steve Bartman’s decision to try and catch a foul ball and cursing the beloved Cubs once more. But policing is different because it could be dealing with possible life or death situations. Although this one wasn’t it still was an ethical dilemma, albeit on a very small scale.
The blue code of silence, briefly stated, is the understood laws followed by the brotherhood of police officers. Although unwritten, they still are greatly followed. Simply put don’t be a snitch. In one of my other cjs classes, contemporary policing in America, we learned about a small ethical dilemma in which an officer was faced with arresting and detaining a fellow officer for his would be action, going on a hunch of what had taken place in the past, or letting the law play out and making the conviction when necessary.
Former Police Officer Sgt. Jeffery Pelo was sentence to 440 years in prison for his multiple counts of sexual assault in the small town of Bloomington Illinois. I chose to write about this because not only does it tie into what we our discussing in class but also it connects to another one of my classes, AND it’s about a local, of beautiful Bloomington! Jeffery Pelo was not only an officer of the law donning the badge and gun, but was also a serial rapist. He was very methodical in his work making sure to cover his tracks, and which each successful assault he grew smarter and more confident. He was never going to get caught he probably thought to himself. Little did he know that Clay Wheeler and other Bloomington Police officers were hot on his case. While watching the "Who the (bleep!) did I Marry? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy9aJwdTTLM&feature=related (not the entire 50 minute video, but the best segment I could find) series video I believe in class I thought to myself it was only a matter of time before this got out of hand and the time where Pelo would get caught up in his actions was soon to come. While lurking around the property of his next victim a disturbance call was made and on the scene came office Dave Zeamer. When confronting the offender, Zeamer called out the man to turn around and when he did it was a shock. Zeamer was now face to face with the would be rapist, Pelo. However Zeamer couldn’t fully know just yet that it was Pelo who was to be held accountable for all the past rapes. However he did have the right to arrest him on the spot to prevent more of these occurrences from happening before the long arm of the law finally had its way with Pelo. The choice not to arrest him was one out of perhaps the blue code of silence. He went on with his business and returned to work the next day knowing in his head what had happened but he didn’t want to tell anyone. Don’t be a snitch right?
In this instance I agree with Zeamers actions not to arrest and let the law do its job. Even though Pelo’s excuse for being there was bogus and that he was looking for a new house for his mother, albeit at one in the morning because no one was around to bother him, I could justify Zeamers non action. Pelo was Zeamers superior and both out of respect and perhaps duty to let this one slide, Pelo walked away.
I could not believe it when I heard about this man and what he had done. It always is more shocking when it happens in a town you live in. I will say this much I am planning on becoming a police officer and I understand there is a "code" but I can promise that if I suspect someone of rape or any type of sexual assault I will not be keeping my mouth shut to protect him or her!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you posted this information! I have not yet heard about it, I don't keep up with the news as much as I should around work and class. Interesting point to bring it into our topics of ethics and what is wrong and what is right. Being law enforcement doesn't always mean the person has authority and is "always" right. Were all human and have our own discretion. There are probably a number of things we all disagree on regarding Kant's theory. Kant makes everything seem like something would be an easy decision, but really in real life situations when you have to decide whether your giving the mayor of your town a ticket or not is a little harder to determine. You mentioned the code of silence between blue, I defiantly agree with you about that police officer not speaking up about that incident. When it comes down to harming people I think people need to speak up!
ReplyDeleteI find it hard not to justify Zeamers actions in deciding not to arrest in this instance. As you said there was not necessarily any reason that he could have known Pelos prior actions or his current intentions in basically performing surveillance on his next victim. To act in that situation and make an arrest on a charge of trespassing would seem outrageous to every other officer and more than likely would not have held any ground in actually entering the system past the initial arrest. I wonder what kind of issues Zeamer himself faced after the truth of the matter was brought out in to the open. I would say he was acting reasonably and justifiably so in the instance, but you have to think this guy had some guilt issues after the fact.
ReplyDeleteThe case of Pelo also relates to the reason as to why it is critical for police officers to have a strong moral basis in terms of character. It's disturbing to think about trained officers, who know the system inside and out, committing offenses because of the fact that there is a smaller chance they actually will be caught. This is a perfect example of the stress our ethics book placed on the issue of police officers needing a solid foundation in terms of moral character.
This is very interesting to me! I have not heard anything about this guy. Maybe it's because I do not watch the news or read the newspaper except the sports section! I should probably start learning more about what is going on. This case is actually kind of scary. He worked in a college filled community and this could of happened to anyone of us.
ReplyDeleteNot only do I think this is disturbing because he was an officer and we are all learning about what work we would do in criminal justice but it is disgusting for everyone. How can someone that is successful in life and have a good job ruin it all for something that he is arresting other people for? Some people blow my mind on how they think they can get away with things. You have to wonder who you can trust when you need help in the real world!!
Due to the blue code of silence, there is a good chance that there may be some more officers doing illegal acts and they know that they will not get caught. There has to be a time to hold people accountable for their actions.
ReplyDeleteI can understand how it would be difficult for the officer to take Pelo in for questioning when he was found outside the womens house. The officer had to know he was lying about what he was doing outside the house in the middle of the night. However, if the wasnt Pelo and was someone else with the same story the officer would have arrested him without question.
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ReplyDeleteOverall, I think that it's crazy that Sgt. Pelo was "brave" enough to commit a series of crimes like this. The part that I really don't understand is why someone would go through so much personal work building a career as a police officer, and then begin committing serial rapes. In my opinion, police officers should have a better understanding than the general public of the different consequences that come with rapes / rape victims because of the experiences that they have with them in the field in addition to their training. I can't see any reason why any human being would want to commit a crime like this, much less a police officer. One of the main reasons that I want to become a police officer after I graduate is because I love helping people. The actions that Sgt. Pelo took did not only not help people, but their lives were literally changed forever. In terms of Officer Zeamer's choice not to arrest Pelo, I think that is a fine line that is difficult to make a decision on. From my perspective, it's easy to say right now that he should have made the arrest (or at least asked a supervisor to come out and give an opinion), but on the other hand, Pelo was one of his supervisors, even if it was not at that exact time.
ReplyDeleteBlue code of silence or not, rape is a very serious thing. I can understand waiting until you have definitive proof to arrest him, but what Zeamer did is inexcusable. The lives of the women he assaulted will forever be different. Their outlook on life and their trust in everyone (including the police) will change dramatically. It is hard for victims to speak up, and Zeamer, as a police officer, should have helped to give them a voice. Instead, he did the opposite and failed to arrest Pelo.
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