In my blog dated June 23, 2011, I spoke about the arrest of a woman for videotaping police officers. As I stated, I did not see how that action rose to the level of obstruction of governmental administration, which was the offense for which she was arrested. I predicted that the charges would probably be dropped.

Fortunately, today it was reported that the District Attorney declined prosecution. For the reasons stated in my initial blog, I am not surprised. But what happens now?

The police department will conduct an internal investigation. There will be pressure to make an adverse finding against this police officer. While the arrest was unwarranted, and the officer will probably receive some form of discipline, I hope that the officer is not fired and his career is not forever ruined. Why?

While the officer was wrong, I believe a major factor was a lack of training. This issue (arrests for videotaping)is not a new one, and the police department (and every police department) should be adequately training its officers. As well, it did not appear that any other officer was questioning the arrest. This officer was not a “hot head” who immediately overreacted and became physically abusive. He did try to resolve the matter with verbal warnings. The officer’s actions must be viewed in toto.

When I speak to corporate clients, I stress the importance of the corporate environment and how it will affect every employee. A police department is no different. This police department will need to make appropriate amends to the wrongfully arrested citizen and enact internal changes to assure this does not happen again. I hope they do not make this officer a scapegoat.

Acknowledge our mistakes, assure they are not repeated, make appropriate compensation and move on…