Is it legal or illegal for a police officer to shake a down a drug dealer?
we don't take things that don't belong to us, either.
In the case of shaking down drug dealers, I would think it must be a somewhat common occurence for your department to have a policy that specifically deals with the issue. From your #536 -
evidence of shaking down drug-dealers? we are "strongly encouraged," not required to report that. most likely that would be taken care of in-house, but also perhaps reported to the immediate supervisor.
If it is illegal, why would the department not require reporting it?
i just looked through my dept manual. the language "strongly encouraged" pertains to turning in other officer's who are guilty of workplace violations such as displaying offensive, sexual materials and the like. you are not required to turn another cop in for that. supervisors are required to if they know who did it.
i could not find the language pertaining to what is required if you suspect another officer of a penal law crime. logic would dictate a legal course of action. but i can't find that procedure right now. 3000 pages is hard to look through. sorry for the confusion!