Case Scenario
At 6:15 a.m., Dispatch received a 911 call from phone number (715) 766-2112 regarding a dispute between residents at the Go-Shop at 1000 Main Street Boulevard, in Springfield, Wisconsin.
The caller identified herself as Sue Jones, The Go-Shop Manager. You, the officer, are dispatched and arrive to the scene at 6:23 a.m.
When you arrive at the scene, there are two individuals engaging with each other in the parking lot while a group of three onlookers stand watching. There are two cars parked next to each other. No other vehicles are parked in the lot. The Go-Shop is not open and no lights are on in the building. There are no other buildings on the property.
Sue Jones, the 911 caller, approaches you. She is identified by a Wisconsin driver’s license as Susan Marie Jones, DOB 8/31/78. Her address is 2121 Main Street South, Patterson, Wisconsin, 54812. Her voice is “shaky” and she is talking very fast. She tells you that upon arriving at the Go-Shop there was a man trying to open the door to the store with something in his hand. She wasn’t sure what was going on so she tried explaining to the man that the store does not open until 7 a.m. and that she was there to prep the store prior to opening it. She said the man seemed nervous and started walking away. As he was walking away, an employee, Jose, arrived at the business and tried talking to the man to find out what was going on. Out of nowhere, the man hit Jose with the metal object, knocking him down to the ground and breaking his glasses.
Sue called 911 right away. She said she yelled at the suspect to wait for the police. However, he ignored her and started running away after putting the metal object, which she believed to be an orange crow bar, in his back pack, which was white or light gray. She said the crow bar was about two feet long. Jose got off the ground and ran after him. She said when the suspect was trying to leave, he had a hard time standing up. As you, the officer, arrived the suspect threw the back pack in a garbage can in the parking lot.
The suspect, a Caucasian male, is estimated to be in his mid to late 40s. He stands about 5′-10″, medium length dark brown hair, and wearing blue jeans torn on the back of the right leg. He is currently pacing on the opposite side of the parking lot.
The victim, Jose, is a Hispanic male and is estimated to be in his mid to late 20s. He stands about 5’2”, bald, and wearing khaki pants and a blue shirt with the Go-Shop logo. He is also standing on the opposite side of the parking lot near the suspect. He speaks limited English.
Both men are arguing loudly as Sue explains the altercation to you. The suspect is currently pacing in a circle in front of the victim, waving his hands up and down and shouting at the Go-Shop employee. The Go-Shop employee is standing with his arms crossed and backs away from the suspect when the suspect approaches. The three onlookers are standing at a distance from the scene.
You separate the victim and suspect to obtain their side of the story. You first try to talk to Jose, but it is apparent he does not speak English. He keeps pointing to the suspect and making a punch like motion in the air and towards his face. He also points to a broken pair of eye glasses that are in front of the store. You do not speak Spanish and there are no Spanish speaking officers working. You are able to determine Jose’s full name is Jose Jorge Gonzalez and his birthday is February 28th, 1988. Sue Jones informs you that Jose’s address is 17354 Backer Ave City, Springfield, Wisconsin, 54123. His phone number is (608) 459-7537.
You call for an ambulance to check Jose out. You later learn that his nose is broken.
You then speak to the suspect. As you are speaking with him, he is swaying and unsteady on his feet. When he looks at you he has a hard time focusing. You ask you what happened. He points to his ear and makes a motion that you understand as him telling you he is deaf. As you are trying to speak with him, he almost falls down. Therefore, you decide to continue your interview at a later time. You locate a Wisconsin Driver’s License in the suspect’s back pocket identifying him as Darryl Justin Smith, date of birth December 2nd, 1971. His address is listed as 601 Wall Street City, Pine City , Minnesota, 52441.
As you are speaking with the suspect, the three onlookers standing at a distance are moving closer to the scene. Two of the onlookers are shouting at each other and one has taken a cell phone out and appears to be recording the scene.
You look in the garbage can in the parking lot and find a light gray backpack. When you pull it out of the trash, Jose shakes his head in a “yes” fashion and points to the suspect. You take possession of the backpack and will secure a search warrant at a later time. You also show Sue Jones the backpack and ask her if that is the backpack the suspect was carrying. She said yes.
Both Smith and Gonzalez are transported to the police department for interviews.
Directions:
Describe at least three conclusions that can be drawn based on three different sources of body language and/or movements of individuals involved in the scene.
Identify at least three challenges to effective communication in this scenario.
Discuss at least three challenges of communicating with the crime victims including the challenges specifically due to the diverse group at the crime scene.
Include at least two sources to support each of the assignment deliverables listed above.
Please be sure to prepare your assignment following APA citation and format requirements. You must include proper citations to any source you relied on for information that you include in your paper.
