The Showup Behind the Convenience Store
At 1:10 a.m., a convenience store clerk reports that a masked man in a gray hoodie took $300 from the register and fled on a bicycle. Responding officers see a man matching the height and build two blocks away, riding a bicycle and carrying a backpack. They stop him at 1:19. The clerk is brought to the scene in a cruiser. Officers shine a spotlight on the suspect, who is standing next to two officers with his hood down. One officer asks the clerk, 'Is this him?' The clerk says, 'I think so, he looks like him.' The suspect is 17, has no record, and is arrested. A search of the backpack incident to arrest finds $280 in cash and a folding knife. At the station, after Miranda and a waiver, the juvenile says, 'I didn't mean to scare her, I just needed money.' The captain reviews the case before arraignment.
1. Evaluate the showup identification and its suggestibility problems.
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Showups are permitted when they are prompt, near the scene, and necessary, but they carry a high risk of suggestibility. Here the showup occurred about nine minutes after the report, two blocks away, which supports promptness. The problems are method: one suspect presented alone, a spotlight, two officers flanking him, the clerk asked a closed question ('Is this him?'), and no admonition that the perpetrator may not be present. The clerk's 'I think so' is weak and suggests uncertainty. The Massachusetts eyewitness identification protocol calls for double-blind administration where practicable, unbiased instructions, and careful documentation. A single-suspect showup is not automatically inadmissible, but the captain should treat the identification as fragile.
Preservation: body camera, cruiser camera, radio logs, the clerk's statement, and the officer's description of the suspect. Avoid showing the clerk a photo of the suspect afterward without a proper procedure; that would taint any later identification.
2. Analyze the backpack search and the juvenile's statements.
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The backpack search depends on timing and control. A search incident to arrest may include containers within the arrestee's immediate control at the time of arrest, but once the backpack is secured in a cruiser and the arrestee is handcuffed, the justification weakens. If the search occurred at the scene while the backpack was within his wingspan, it is likely valid; if it occurred at the station or after he was separated from it, the department needs a warrant, valid consent, or a lawful inventory policy. The $280 and knife are not automatically admissible.
Miranda: the juvenile was Mirandized and waived, but Massachusetts courts scrutinize juvenile waivers closely. Age, education, length of detention, and whether he asked for a parent are all factors. If he asked to call a parent and was refused, the waiver is at serious risk. The statement 'I didn't mean to scare her' is a partial admission that may also be attacked as ambiguous. The captain should ensure the interview was recorded and the waiver documented.
3. What next steps and training corrections do you recommend?
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Next steps: (1) assign a supervisor to review the showup and search for policy compliance; (2) obtain the clerk's full statement and have the clerk make a non-suggestive identification only if legally permissible; (3) check the backpack's location at the time of search and who searched it; (4) preserve the cash, knife, and any footage with chain of custody; (5) consult the DA before any further contact with the juvenile; (6) consider whether the arrest and charges are supported without the identification and statement; (7) document the juvenile's demeanor, any request for a parent, and the exact warnings.
The training issue is showup procedure: use a blind or blinded administrator, give the 'may not be present' admonition, avoid spotlight and flanking officers where possible, and record the clerk's confidence in her own words. The supervisor should also examine whether the stop of the juvenile was supported by reasonable suspicion. Matching height and build plus a hoodie and bicycle is thin, though proximity and timing help.