What triggers Garrity compulsion?

• A. Compulsion occurs when the employer has ordered production of information under threat of discipline
• B. Compulsion occurs when the officer is terminated
• C. Compulsion occurs when the officer is forced to confess
• D. Compulsion occurs when the employer suspends the officer

Answer: (A)

Garrity compulsion happens when a public employer demands that a police officer or government employee provide information and ties that demand to the threat of punishment—like dismissal, suspension, or other disciplinary action. The essential idea is that the government cannot force someone to incriminate themselves by punishing them for not answering. So the trigger is the employer’s threat of discipline used to obtain the information. The other scenarios describe possible consequences, but the key trigger is the coercive threat to discipline in exchange for the compelled information.