Can Officers Detain a Witness Who Didn't Commit a Crime?

This post is only offered as a discussion topic only and does not represent legal advice. Officers must refer to the laws in their own State as well as their agency's policies, which can be more restrictive on officers that the law requires.

Scenario: A uniformed patrol officer investigating school shooting threats. The suspect is not at school and his mother will not provide you his location when the officer speaks to her on the phone. The officer responds to the suspect’s home to determine his whereabouts. Upon arrival both of his parents are uncooperative with questioning.

Can the officer detain them to gather more information despite the fact they've committed no crime? 

Answer: This is a similar situation to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals case of Bernal v. Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department from 2023. In this case, the court explained the following about the non-criminal, investigative detentions or suspicionless seizure of a material witness: 

"The reasonableness of their detention ‘depends on a balance between the public interest and the individual's right to personal security free from arbitrary interference by law officers.'” (Brown v. Texas, 1979) (quoting Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 1977). The court further elaborated, “‘…to justify the suspicionless seizure of a material witness, there must be exigencies requiring immediate action, the gravity of the public interest must be great, and the detention must be minimally intrusive, both in length of time and amount of force used. (quoting City of Indianapolis v. Edmond, 2000).’ 

The court ultimately ruled in favor of deputies exercising “limited authority to briefly detain and question” the suspects parents about the suspect’s location “due primarily to the exigencies inherent in preventing an imminent school shooting.”