After viewing footage of the dump site, what is Officer Gonzalez able to do?

• A. Nothing
• B. Arrest the criminals
• C. Question witnesses
• D. File a report for further investigation

Answer: (A)

Viewing surveillance footage is a piece of evidence, not a green light for action. Arresting someone requires probable cause or direct, observed criminal activity; simply watching video does not by itself establish that, so an arrest isn’t warranted just from the footage. Questioning witnesses also relies on proper context and legal grounds beyond what a video shows, so it isn’t automatically allowed or necessary based solely on what’s seen. Filing a report to start an investigation would require enough information to justify opening one, which the footage alone may not provide. Because of these limits, there isn’t an immediate action the officer can take just from viewing the footage, so the prudent step is to preserve the footage and document what was observed for the appropriate investigators to review.