I think the point, or mine anyway, with all this is the pathetic "ambulance chasing," and "blame someone else for my idiocracy" world that we live in.
The captain did the right thing, not because pilots want to support pilots on any issue..... In this case he was damned if he did and damned if he didn't. That is; company policy dictates one thing yet common sense dictates another. Does anyone honestly believe that the Captain wanted to delay the flight and getting home to his / her family, etc?
At the end of the day, go by the SOPs and your backside is safe (most of the time...!!).