Opinion ID: 164535
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Initial Conversation

Text: 26 The district court, assuming arguendo that the anonymous tip provided reasonable suspicion justifying the initial stop ruled that any such reasonable suspicion was dispelled after Officer Middleton's initial contact with them. Again, perhaps because the district court was incorrect in its determination of when reasonable suspicion was necessary to justify Officer Middleton's actions, its analysis of this issue fails to account for the totality of the circumstances standard. 27 It is true that Officer Middleton's initial observation and conversation with the pair called into question much of the information in the tip. They both denied that Johnson had been forcing Samantha to do anything, and Samantha's appearance did not belie their claims. Johnson's gentlemanly, if nervous, behavior likewise gave credence to their denials. 28 This does not mean, however, that Officer Middleton should have simply abandoned his investigation at this point, blithely sending the couple on their way in Albuquerque's most dangerous neighborhood. The Fourth Amendment does not require police to be so credulous. As Officer Middleton pointed out, in a kidnapping, domestic violence, or similar situation, Samantha would likely be intimidated when answering in front of Johnson, and both would have had an incentive to lie if they were involved in some other criminal activity such as prostitution or drug dealing. It is not an unreasonable inference that even before Officer Middleton pulled over in a marked police cruiser, the two knew an officer was watching them and behaved accordingly.